


The Shadow of Grimm

by TenshiWarrior



Series: The Chronicles of Grimm [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 168,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10561406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenshiWarrior/pseuds/TenshiWarrior
Summary: Time has passed since the fall of Beacon and with team RWBY split apart, Ruby travels with what remains of team JNPR and former criminals Roman and Neo in order to find the truth and the whereabouts of his daughter, Destiny. During their travels however, they come across team CRMS, whose leader bares a face to which they all recognize. What could this mean exactly? (Sequel to The Child of Grimm)





	1. The Widow, the Mistress and the Efah

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:  
> The following is a fan-based story. RWBY is all owned by Roosterteeth, and Monty Oum. Please support the official release.
> 
> Note:  
> This is going to take place during RWBY V4, but will be different or some slight differences. If you are not a fan, than I’d advise you not to read ahead.

_Long ago in the land of Remnant, there was a Widow, that lived in a house in a forest by a river. The Widow rarely left her home, and she no companion by her side. The only thing she had to keep her company was a beautiful flower garden, to which she had treated with care. Watering the flowers everyday, and making sure not one was out of place._

 

_Though she was lonely in the forest by the river, she was almost happy with what she got; however there was just one thing she wanted more than anything, that was worth more than every flower in her garden. She longed for someone to talk to. With her companion by her side no longer, she longed for only a person, and to understand what she had gone through, and to stay by her side till her time._

 

_She always doubted that she would ever find such a person._

 

_One day, on a snowy night, she was perplexed to hear a knock at the front door, since she rarely had visitors especially so late at night. When she went to answer, she had found a young Mistress with her skin as pale as the snow itself and wearing a black cloak covering her face._

 

_The Mistress had spoken to her, “Pardon me ma’am, I do not wish to intrude, but if it is not too much trouble, may I ask if I spend a single night to avoid this awful storm.”_

 

_The Widow looked at the Mistress with curiousness, and at first turned her down._

 

_The Mistress had said to the Widow, “I understand if you wish to turn me down. I have no money or anything of value. The only thing I offer you is this seed.”_

 

_The Mistress reached into her pocket and pulled out just a single tiny seed, that was strangely coated with an unnatural black._

 

_The Widow looked at it confused by this, “But this is a flower seed. I already have a garden of flowers.” However the Mistress had told her, “Curb your tongue ma’am, for this is not an ordinary seed. This seed will eventually grow into a rare flower known as the Efah; when petals start to fall, it will grant you what you have longed for. If you take this as my offer, than will you allow me to stay for a night?”_

 

_The Widow had eventually agreed to take the Mistress’s offer, and allowed her to stay the night. And just as she said, she was gone the next day. On that very same morning she planted the Efah seed within her flower garden and waited for the Efah to grow._

 

_Days had passed and the Efah did not seem to have grown, but she continued to wait, and wait. On the eve of summer, the Efah finally grew. Though the flower that grew from the dirt and manure stood out from the rest. This flower that grew was a tulip, though it was different from the other tulips that grew in her garden; this had black and white petals, but only one had a strange shape that was covered in red._

 

_Of course she found the flower quite odd, and yet she was intrigued by it. She studied the flower closely as she tended to the others as she had done in the past. As winter drew by once more, she noticed that the petals on the tulip had begun to fall though nothing had happened at first; the Widow figured, it was supposed to be it’s time. Though just as she was ready to discard the petals, they began to take form before her very eyes while the steam disappeared into vapor._

 

_The petals which had fallen had formed into a person..._

* * *

  _-_ ** _Three Years Ago; Vale’s Apartments 3G_ ** _-_

 

_It was late at night in the city of Vale. All throughout the streets was quiet, and mostly the sound of cars could be heard outside. In a small apartment, just downtown, there sat a man with familiar orange slanted hair, and green eye. He sat at a bedside, and beside him was a young girl. An ten year old girl to be exact. She had short magenta hair with two parts of her bangs colored orange. Her left eye was green, while her right eye was all coated with black and was of orange; black veins were all around her right eye. She was leaning against the man’s arm as she listened to him read her the story; though she had taken noticed that his words had trailed off._

 

_“Was this really mom’s favorite story?” The little one asked with curiousness._

 

_“Yeah.” The man replied, “It was one of the few things she kept when she left home for good. She always took her time to read this every night before she went to sleep.”_

 

_“Just like me with the Seasons Story.”_

 

_“It’s exactly like that.”_

 

_The girl had started to let out a couple of raspy coughs; the girl’s father placed the book nearby and started to pat her back._

 

_“Are you alright Destiny?” He asked with concern._

 

_“Ye--yeah.”The girl named Destiny said, though she still coughed a bit._

 

_The man felt her forehead, “You're burning up.”_

 

_“I’ll be fine dad.” Destiny reassured with her father, “Don’t worry.”_

 

_Destiny continued to cough; her father laid her back in the pillows and went to go get some cough medicine. After he had gotten it, he gave her only two spoonfuls. Though the coughs were still there her throat felt a little better._

 

_“There we go, that’s better than before.” He said._

 

_Destiny nodded, but had a saddened look on her face._

 

_“What is it?” He asked her._

 

_“I’m sorry.” She suddenly said. He was taken back at this; Why on Earth was his daughter apologizing? “Why are you saying that?” He asked._

 

_“I’m always costing you money, and I’m always bothersome.” Destiny said, “I’m nothing but trouble for you aren’t I?”_

 

_He let out a sigh, but pat her head; Destiny was a bit taken back by this. “Don’t ever think that Princess.” He said, “You’ve never been bothersome for me.”_

 

_Destiny said, “But it’s because of my condition, you always have to take dangerous jobs to get money to pay for the medicine. And you always get mad when you get the envelopes with red letters. Those envelopes cost money too don’t they?”_

 

_“Hey… Don’t worry about that.” He said to her, “I always manage to keep balance on both of them.”_

 

_“But…”_

 

_“No buts alright? Don’t ever blame yourself. I’m not just doing it for you, I’m doing it for the both of us. One day, when we get enough money, we’ll find a better home outside of Vale, in another kingdom. We’ll live in a home just like the one your mother and I lived in before, but bigger.”_

 

_“Really?”_

 

_“I promise you Destiny that one day we will. Though, it’s going to take some time to get there, can you be patient for me?”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head, and smiled, “Of course I will. I’ll wait for as long as it takes!”_

 

_They soon heard the door open and someone step down the hall. Though they were surprisingly calm at this, as it turned out to be the man’s partner. It was a young girl with long brown and pink hair, that swirled like ice cream in the back._

 

_“Neo!” Destiny said excitedly seeing her at the doorway._

 

_“Good evening Destiny.” Neo greeted with a smile, “How are you feeling?”_

 

_“I still have a fever, but I’m better than before.” Destiny replied._

 

_“That’s good.” Neo said to the little one with a friendly smile, “When you get better, I’ll take you to the park so we can play, alright?”_

 

_Destiny smiled an nodded, “I’d like that very much.”_

 

_Neo smiled back at her, before turning to the man, “Roman, Junior’s got another job for you. He wants to talk to you over at his club.”_

 

_The man named Roman said, “Give me a minute.”_

 

_Neo nodded in understanding and went to wait in the living room. He turned his attention back to Destiny, “I’ve got to go now Princess. In the meantime you get some sleep, alright?”_

 

_Destiny nodded, “Stay safe, okay dad?”_

 

_“Always.” Was all he replied with a smile._

 

_Without another word, he tucked Destiny in, and gave her a goodnight kiss before he exited the room, closing the door and turning off the light on his way out. He went into the living room and put on his gray scarf, white jacket, gloves and black bowler hat. Neo was holding his Melodic Cudgel; she handed it over to him._

 

_“You’ll look after her while I’m gone?” Roman asked._

 

_“Of course I will.” Neo said, “Just try not to die.” All Roman did was smirk and fixed his gloves; he tipped his hat and said, “I’ll be back.” With that he left the apartment, leaving Neo and Destiny the only ones in the apartment._

* * *

 - ** _Present_ ** -

 

Time came and went since the fall of Vale and the school known as Beacon. It really had felt more like eight years to the people of Remnant. Much has changed since than, and the once known peace between kingdoms was now broken. Many of it’s citizens lost trust in others and many others had become scared since they had seen what had happened before the CCT had fallen. All sorts of questions kept popping up here and there; though all were left unanswered by it.

 

A few certain people are determined to find those answers and discover the truth on the attack.

 

Smoke arose from the buildings a of a small village. Many of it’s citizens have fled their homes and tried to run from the oncoming creatures of Grimm that laid waste among the streets. Beowolves ran amuck and attacked anyone that was in their way.

 

One woman and her children were cornered as a Beowolf towered over them. She held her weeping children close as the Beowolf was about to kill them. Just when the creature was about to take a single swing to finish them off, it’s attention was drawn when a shot was fired and hit it’s arm clean off.

 

The Beowolf turned to a man with a familiar weapon and his long hair in the shade of orange. The Beowolf roared and charged at the man. It swung its claws at the man and he ducked. He flipped his cane, and it had fired a grappling hook around it’s leg causing the Beowolf to trip and lose its footing. When the grappling hook retracted he flipped the cane again and fired a shot in it’s head killing the Beowolf instantly. The Beowolf disappeared into black vapor.

 

The man was revealed to have most of his hair covering his left eye and his right eye was green; his hair was shoulder lengthed but was tied back. He wore a white cape coat that was held up with a golden chain, and under it he wore a black collared shirt; with it he had on a gray scarf just wrapped around the collar of his shirt, and he wore a pair of brown pants. He also had on a black glove on his right hand and a fingerless glove on the other, and he had on a pair of black shoes. On top of his head he wore a black and red bowler cap with a gray feather on the side.

 

He looked to the woman and her two children.

 

“What the hell are you waiting for!?” The man said to them, “Get out of here! Get as far as you can!”

 

The woman wasted no time, she stood up and took the children's hands and quickly ran out of the village. Just as he saw them disappear in the distance he saw more Beowolves inbound. He mumbled a curse before he started to run from the whole group of Grimm that were coming towards him. Eventually he reached the village square and started to fire onto the oncoming Grimm. A few of them tried to get close and hit him on the side but he was quick to block them with the base of his cane.

 

Though he was quick to realize he was outnumbered.

 

“Damn it all!” He said as he reloaded before he started to fire again, “What in the world is taking **_her_ ** so long!?”

 

From the outside, a young girl wearing a red cloak that was partly shredded at the bottom made her way to a cliffside that was just outside of the forest. On her red cloak she had a silver rose that had held the red cloak in place, and her hood covered most of her face.

 

She stopped in her tracks when she had gotten to the cliffside. There her **_silver eyes_ ** fell upon a town up in flames. Grimm had invaded its streets, attacking anyone that had not yet evacuated.

 

The girl eyed the village; knowing she couldn’t just let it go in ruined.

 

Her eyes looked to the sky when a screech came overhead. Nevermores flew just over her and towards the village. She turned around and armed her weapon, a scythe that had unfolded. With a leap she jumped high into the air and latched onto one of the Nevermores, and they both flew towards the village leave red rose petals in her wake.

 

When she was above the village she pulled the trigger and sliced off the Nevermores wing, causing it to fall right out of the sky.

 

The man took notice of the Nevermore falling when he saw the Beowolves attention was drawn to the sky.

 

The girl landed on top of one of the statues breaking it under her feet; the man smirked.

 

“I was wondering when you would show up to the party… **_Little Red_ **.”

 

The girl slowly stood and she removed her hood. **_Ruby_ ** stood on top of the now broken statue with her eyes closed shut. She wore a white high neck décolletage blouse with an black overbust corset. She had on a black and red skirt with a black belt bordered red with a magnetic clip for her to hold her weapon and ammunition. On her back she had on brown straps in case she had a small bag to carry. On her legs she had on leggings with a long stemmed rose that had gone up to her thigh. She also had on a pair of red-soled boots that had four straps and buckles making her slightly taller.

 

On her left wrist she had worn a bracelet, that consisted of red and black beads that was all connected to an insignia of a rose.

 

Some of the Beowolves approached Ruby, while some of their attention was drawn to the man, who was named, **_Roman_ **.

 

Roman’s attention was drawn to Ruby, he had not realized that a Beowolf came up behind him. He had only just now realized that it was going to attack when he noticed a giant shadow covered his body, giving him no time to react.

 

Ruby on the other hand was quick to act on this. Upon opening her eyes, she moved with incredible speed that made it seem like she teleported, thanks to her semblance. In a blink of an eye Ruby was in front of Roman with her weapon in hand just as the Grimm was about to take a swing. Before it could she had killed it in a single swing. Ruby flipped back and landed on her feet just as more Grimm jumped at them.

 

Roman shot some out of the air, while Ruby charged at them and swung her scythe, cutting them in half.

 

At one point Ruby had flipped the Beowolves in the air to gain momentum and knocked them back into the one of the buildings. Roman either fired or hit them out of the air, until his Melodic Cudgel was hit away by one of the Beowolves. He cursed under his breath as the Beowolf charged at him.

 

Though Roman wasn’t unprepared in case something like that had happened. Just as a the Beowolf jumped at him, he clenched his fist and a small yet large blade emerged stabbing the beowolf through the head killing it instantly. He kicked the Beowolf off just as it had started to disappear into vapor.

 

A few more Beowolves charged at the man, though he was able to take them down with ease with the help of his blade. He charged onto the oncoming Grimm.

 

Ruby had continued to slice and dice to any Beowolf that tried to attack her on all sides, but was soon pushed back when a rock hit her across the face.

 

Quick to recover, she dodged a few more rocks heading in her direction, when she saw a Beowolf on the rooftop of the tallest building actually throwing the rocks in her direction. Ruby ran with great speed as the rocks just missed her. Just as the Beowolf was about to through one giant rock, Ruby activated her semblance. She moved so fast she had actually made a turbulence of red rose petals that split into three just as the rock was thrown before reappearing right behind the Grimm. In a single shot through the head, it was killed; the force of the shot flew her back into the sky.

 

She used a Nevermore to push herself back into the village, while at the same time, she knocked it out of the air.

 

Creating a crater in the ground, her and Roman stood back to back in the smoke, after Roman recovered his cane he unclenched his fist and the blade retracted itself.

 

They both felt the ground shake slightly; they stood armed and ready for what was about to come. Though neither had time to react when a fist came flying in Ruby’s direction. Roman came in front of her to block the fist, but it was to no avail as both of them flew back into a building that just stood behind them, breaking down the door in the process.

 

They both stood up, recovering from the impact and looked to see what exactly had hit them. There they saw a Grimm creature that resembled a gorilla which was known as a Beringel, letting out a roar. It charged at them and Roman tried to fire at the Beringel, but it didn’t even phase it. It knocked Roman to the side and he it a building; he screamed out in agony as he landed on his side.

 

The Beringel tried to attack Ruby, but she was able to flip over it, and went to attack it with her scythe. Though despite stabbing it in the leg, it didn’t cry out in agony, it didn’t even flinch. Ruby’s eyes widened in horror before she was grabbed by the Beringel by the face. It punched her in the gut and she was sent flying into one of the buildings. Despite this, both, Ruby and Roman got up from the floor after they recovered from the attack.

 

Ruby jumped onto the building and ran along the rooftops while she fired at the Beringel and the Beowolves that now ran beside it. Roman did the same, but he was moving along the ground as he fired his weapon. They both stopped at one point to quickly reload before they started to fire again.

 

The Beringel grabbed ahold of a Beowolf nearby and literally threw it at Ruby. As the Beowolf flew towards the young teen she armed her scythe once again and sliced it in two. The Beringel than leaped into the air and tried to crush her with it’s fists. Ruby quickly moved out of the away, and the roof had gotten damaged.

 

Both Ruby and the Beringel circled each other for awhile before the Beringel charged at her. Ruby charged at it to attack it but quickly dodged when the Beringel tried to crush her under it’s fist. As she flew over the creature she fired at it several times, landing on the corner of the rooftop. She flew towards the Beringel arming her scythe she swung before launching herself into the air. She darted like a pinball before flying back to the Beringel attempting to stab it in the arm. Though it was quick to block it.

 

Leaving red rose petals in her wake she had gone behind the Beringel; when it tried to hit her, she moved to the side and tried to stab it in the leg again. Though she ended up flipping back when it slammed on the ground again. Right before she could land on the ground, the Beringel slammed near her feet, causing the ground to crumble. Ruby ended up losing her footing and she ended up falling into the building with a scream.

 

“ **RED!** ” Roman yelled, seeing Ruby had fallen into the building.

 

The Beringel had jumped off of the rooftop and back onto the ground. Roman fired at the Beringel but it dodged his shots and tried to hit him head on. Roman ducked and clenched his fist drawing out the blade and stabbed it in it’s shoulder, but it didn’t even phase him.

 

“Oh for f-- **GAH!** ”

 

Roman was punched to the ground hard and his face ended up making a crater. Roman recovered from but quickly flipped of the way when he saw it’s fist coming down at him. He stood up from the ground and aimed his weapon at the Beringel preparing to fire at it again.

 

That’s when he noticed rose petals fly right by his face.

 

From inside of the building several rose petals began to fly out of the building, and all around the surrounding area of the Beringel and Roman.

 

The rose petals flew up to the top of the tower just behind the circular glass.

 

Ruby came jumping out of the tower, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces. She landed on the ground with the help of her scythe and pulled the trigger to allow to her to jump over the Beringel just as it had tried to grab her. Ruby caught the creature by it’s feet with her weapon, and fired it causing the Beringel to trip. Before it could fall face first, Ruby had activated her semblance and ran around making a tornado of rose petals causing the Beringel to fly high into the air.

 

Ruby flew into the air as well and armed her blade; she flew towards the Grimm stabbing it in the chest. They both hurdled to the ground, Ruby standing on top of the enormous creature and with a single shot, it was as dead as a doornail; it had disappeared into vapor.

 

Ruby stood up and looked to Roman.

 

“You were cutting it a bit close there Red.” Roman said to her.

 

“Well I did pass out for a second there when I fell into the roof.” Ruby said to the man, “Plus I think it’s a win win since I did just save your life, twice.”

 

“Alright don’t be a show-off.” Roman said while waving his hand, “Most of the people have evacuated and there’s still a matter of cleaning up the trash we gotta deal with. Though it would be easier if the others were here to help us out, where are they anyway?”

 

Just as Roman asked this, there scrolls had started to ring. They both picked up and saw it was there friends. Neo was calling Roman, while what remained of team JNPR had called Ruby.

 

“Neo!” Roman said picking up the call, “It’s about time, where are you?”

 

“ _I’m close by._ ” Neo replied, “ _I’ll be there as fast as I can_.”

 

“You better make it fast, seems like the Grimm are multiplying here.” Roman said to Neo.

 

Ruby picked up the call from team JNPR.

 

“ _Ruby!_ ” Jaune said, “ _We saw smoke!_ ”

 

“ _We’re heading your way!_ ” Ren had said.

 

“ _Don’t start without us_.” Nora said in her usual cheerful way.

 

Ruby picked up her head, and looked to the Grimm “You’d better hurry.” She said with a smile.

 

Roman fixed up his hat, “Well Red? Shall we?”

 

Ruby put her scroll away and said, “No need to tell me twice. Let’s g--”

 

Ruby had soon gotten caught off when she heard the sound of gunshots and fighting in the distance, which both her and Roman were befuddled to hear. They both knew that there were no Huntsmen or Huntresses in the vicinity of the village, well that they knew of anyway.

 

“Who the hell could be out here?” Roman said.

 

“Come on!” Ruby said to Roman, “We gotta go check it out!”

 

Ruby ran to where the sounds were coming from and Roman followed behind her. As they ran through the horde of Grimm, they attacked any one of the creatures that had tried to attack them, killing them instantly.

 

Finally they had gotten to where the sounds were coming from Ruby stopped in her tracks as her eyes widened. “Red? What is it?” Roman asked, seeing how she stopped running.

 

Roman looked and saw two teenage girls, one with shoulder length black hair that had rested on her shoulders with a green hoodie, and having a single arm blade, and the other who had a pair of fox ears and a tail with hand blades that was enhanced with dust fighting off some beowolves. Though he had noticed that Ruby was eyeing the girl with the single arm blade in particular almost as if she was put into a trance, he couldn’t help but wonder why though.

 

Ruby’s eyes watched carefully at the girl that was currently fighting, and… She just couldn’t believe who was standing right in front of her. She’d know that arm-blade anywhere! She knew it had to be **_her_ **! Though… She had to know for sure.

 

The two girls fired on the oncoming beowolves until finally every single beowolf disappeared into black vapor.

 

The girl with black hair picked up her scroll.

 

“This area is all cleared out.” She said to whoever was on the phone.

 

“ ** _Got it. We’ll meet you there._ ** ” A girl said to her via scroll.

 

“Man… That was dozy.” The girl with fox ears had said.

 

Ruby had her Crescent Rose stand on the ground as she walked over to the girl. Finally Ruby had spoken up.

 

“ _..._ **_Melody?_ ** ”

 

The girl, named Melody turned around to look at Ruby with her Indian red eyes. Though when she looked at Ruby she couldn’t help but have a quizzical look on her face; The girl with fox ears had noticed her too.

 

“Melody…?” Ruby said again, “Is… Is that really you?”

 

Melody had said to her, “I’m sorry… Do I know you?”

 

Ruby had replied, “Melody? How do you not recognize me? It’s me! Ruby!”

 

Melody’s eyes widened at this when Ruby had told her her name. Roman had said, “Wait, you know this girl?”

 

“Melody?” The girl with fox ears said, “You know her?”

 

“... Ruby?” Melody said taking a quick glance over at her outfit; she took her weapon off of her arm and placed it on the ground, “Are you really Ruby?”

 

All Ruby did was nod her head and smile at her. Melody’s jaw dropped as she walked over to her. For a moment there was silence, until Melody let out a squeal and threw her arms around Ruby, and in turn she did the same thing. Roman and the Fanus girl on the other hand were left befuddled as they watched the two of them jump in place as they were in still in an embrace.

 

“Oh my God Ruby!” Melody said finally pushing herself out of the hug, “You’re really here! You’re really okay!”

 

“It’s so good to see you again Melody!” Ruby said with a smile, “I haven’t seen you in so long! It’s been ages since you left!!”

 

“What are you even doing here?”

  
  
“What do you mean what I’m doing here, why are you here!?”

 

Roman finally said to stop the girls, “Red, who is this girl anyway?”

 

Ruby turned to Roman, “Oh right, I’ve never mentioned her to you guys.” Ruby said before introducing her, “This is my cousin Melody. She’s my uncle’s daughter!”

 

“Your cousin?” Roman said befuddled.

 

“Your cousin?” The Fanus girl said, “You never told me you have a cousin Melody.”

 

Melody turned to Scout, “You never asked Scout, so I didn’t tell.”

 

Ruby’s eyes widened slightly at the name Scout. “Wait, did you just say her name is Scout?” Ruby asked Melody.

 

“Yeah.” Melody said, “Why, something the matter?”

 

Ruby shook her head and said, “Oh no, it’s nothing.”

 

“Hold on a second here.” Roman said to Ruby getting her attention again, “I know you have a sister, and I know you have an uncle. But you never mentioned a cousin.”

 

Melody looked over to Roman, “Who’s that supposed to be?”

 

“Okay, don’t freak out or anything. But…” Ruby said to her cousin, “This, is Roman Torchwick.”

 

Melody and Scout’s eyes widened at this, shocked to hear the name. A criminal! Ruby is with a criminal! Melody could swear that she was dreaming.

 

“Roman Torchwick? As in the Gentleman Thief?” Melody said trying to wrap her head around it.

 

“As in, one of the most wanted?” Scout asked.

 

“Yeah.” Roman said to them, “Hard to believe I know.”

  
Melody gave a questiongy look over in Ruby’s direction. Ruby said to her, “I know it’s hard to believe, but to make the long story short, certain things happened at Beacon and Vale, and he’s on our side.”

 

All Roman did was tip his hat as he said, “Ladies.”

 

Both teens were still befuddled by this, and looked over in Ruby’s direction. “I’ll be sure to go into detail later. Trust me when I say it’s a really long story.”

 

Melody than said to Ruby, “Still… It’s so good to see you. After I saw the news about what was happening in Vale and Beacon, I had gotten real worried about you and Yang. I didn’t even know if you guys made it out alright.”

 

“Well here I am.” Ruby said to Melody, “Alive and perfectly fine, so you don’t have to worry.”

 

“So… If your out here than am I expected to see Yang and the rest of your team coming behind you?” Melody asked.

 

It was at this point Ruby had become silent at the mentioning of her team. She couldn’t help but think back to them, about the events that had transpired and about what Yang had told her what had happened exactly after she had passed out.

 

It was one of the few reasons why she was out here in the first place.

 

Melody noticed the look on her cousin's face. “Ruby…?” Melody said, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

 

Ruby replied hesitantly, “A few… **_Certain things happened_ ** when Beacon and Vale fell. My team, just… Broke apart. And Yang’s…”

 

Melody’s eyes widened at the mention of Yang, “What about Yang?” Melody said, “Did something happen to her!?”

 

Ruby looked into Melody’s eyes, and saw that look of worry that she hadn’t seen in a long time. “She’s not dead if that’s what you’re thinking.” Ruby said to her hesitantly, “But… She went to get her partner Blake. She saw her in trouble and Yang tried to… And her arm…”

 

Melody had put two and two together, “ **_She lost her arm…?_ ** ” She said stunned.

 

Ruby silently but hesitantly nodded her head; that’s when she saw a hint of anger in Melody’s eyes. “Who did it?” Melody said with anger, “Who’s the bastard that took her arm?”

 

Ruby couldn’t say anything about it, Roman on the other hand answered for her. “It was a White Fang member that did it.” He said, “A member of the White Fang took her arm.”

 

“Which member did it? Was it their leader?” Melody said demanding an answer from him.

 

“I’m not sure.” Roman replied, “By the time Red and I got back to her sister, the damage was already done.”

 

Melody clenched her fist feeling all the rage in her body. Whoever did it was gonna be in hell when they come across her. Though Melody had just now realized something.

 

“Wait, if your not out here with your team, than who else are you out here with?” Melody asked her, “Besides one of Remnants most wanted criminal? No offense to you.”

 

“None taken.” Roman said taking out a cigar. He took out his lighter and lit up the cigar.

 

Ruby had replied, “Other than me and Roman, there’s his partner Neo and three members from team JNPR. We’re actually heading to Mistral’s academy.”

 

Both Melody and Scout were surprised to hear this from her. “You guys are heading to Mistral too?” Scout asked, “Our team is heading there as well!”

 

“Your team?” Ruby and Roman said at the same time.

 

“Yeah Ruby, I meant to tell you over the scroll, but you know, the CCT fell and I lost contact, but…” Melody said, “I got a team. Downside though, I’m not the leader, but I’m cool with it.”

 

Ruby couldn’t help but squeal, “Omigosh you have your own team!? Melody that’s amazing!”

 

Scout than said, “Speaking of which, I’m actually your cousin's partner.” Scout held out her hand to have Ruby shake it, “It’s very nice to meet you Ruby. I’m Scout Lapis.”

 

Ruby shook her hand, “Nice to meet you too.”

 

Just than Ruby noticed a small little head pop out from Melody’s hood. Ruby was befuddled to see that it was a little white fox with a gray collar. Melody noticed that Ruby had seen her little friend. “Oh right. I made a friend on my travels. Ruby, I’d like you to meet Frosty.”

 

Ruby reached her hand out to the little fox, and he sniffed her hand; though he just made himself comfortable again in Melody’s hood.

 

“Don’t worry. He’ll get used to you. Just give it time.” Melody said.

 

Just than a voice had come over them.

 

“Melody! Scout! Are you two over here?”

 

They all turned at the sound of the voice and saw that it was a girl with gray pigtails with gray eyes. She appeared to have a single prosthetic leg. Roman’s eyes widened slightly while Scout said while she waved her over, “Oh hey Rosario! Over here!”

 

The girl named Rosario came over to the group and she said, “Who’s this?”

 

“Rosario this is Melody’s cousin, Ruby Rose.” Scout replied.

 

“Hi there, nice to meet you.” Ruby said to Rosario.

 

Rosario looked over at Ruby, “Your the leader of RWBY right?”

 

Ruby nodded her head in reply. Rosario said to her with a small smile, “I’ve watched your fights on television. Your pretty good in combat.”

 

“Oh, thank you.” Ruby said to her.

 

“Rosario here worked as a bounty hunter.” Melody said, “She’s pretty good at what she does.”

 

“Where’s Cristal?” Scout asked.

 

“She and Senka are busy driving out the rest of the Grimm.” Rosario replied, “Don’t worry she’ll be with us shortly.” Rosario soon noticed the man with a bowler cap and feather currently smoking from his cigar. Roman noticed that she was looking over in his direction.

 

“Well, well, long time no see Rosa.” Roman said to her in his usual tone, “Didn’t expect to see you again.”

 

Rosario cracked a smile, “Roman Torchwick, the Gentleman Thief. Last I heard you and your partner were in Vale. Honestly I didn’t think you’d still be alive.”

 

“I’d say the same for you.” Roman said.

 

“You guys… Know each other?” Ruby asked.

 

“Of sorts.” Roman and Rosario said at the same time.

 

Rosario notice Melody and Scout giving her a questioning look. Rosario sighed and said, “I’ll explain later.”

 

“We only met once.” Roman said to Ruby, “Just once. That’s all you need to know.”

 

“Oookay.” Ruby couldn’t help but say awkwardly. She turned back to the three girls, “I’m guessing that Cristal is your leader.”

 

“Pretty much.” Melody replied, “She’s actually the one that bought us all together, after she revealed information to us.”

 

“Information? What do you mean?” Ruby asked.

 

“Maybe it’s best if she tells you herself.” Melody replied.

 

Just than they all heard a screech; they looked up and saw that it was Grimm Griffon flying just above them. Roman armed his weapon prepared to shoot it out of the sky, but Rosario stopped him. “Don’t worry. He’s a friend actually.” Rosario said to Roman.

 

The Griffon landed on the ground, resting on it’s stomach. A person, a young teenage girl had jumped off of it’s back and walked over to the group. Roman was left stunned while Ruby’s eyes widened in shock when she felt as though that the girl before them gave off a familiar aura.

 

The girl, that they assumed to be Cristal said to her team, “I see you guys made some new friends.”

 

“Cristal, this is Melody’s cousin Ruby.” Scout said, “And I take it your familiar with Roman Torchwick.”

 

Cristal turned to them, and Ruby was taken back when she saw her face. She’d know it anywhere but it couldn’t be possible… Right?

 

“Nice to meet you Ruby.” Cristal said to her snapping her out of it, “And you too Roman.”

 

“Y… Yeah…” Roman said, doing his best not to sound off, “It’s a pleasure.”

 

“It can’t be…” Cristal heard Ruby whispered which left her befuddled.

 

“Can’t be what?” Cristal asked.

 

Ruby looked over to the Griffon and that back to Cristal.

 

“You look so much like **_her…_ ** ” Was all Ruby could say.

* * *

 

- **_Three Years Ago_ ** -

 

_A few hours had passed since Roman left the apartment, and all was quiet. Neo slept on one of the chairs in the living room while the television was on. Destiny however was still awake; she was used to things like this by now. She would normally stay awake either if it was a nightmare or if she hadn’t heard her dad come walking through the door. “Dad’s gone out on a job again…” Destiny said to herself, “But he hasn’t come back yet… I know he does it for our own good, but it does get lonely without him. Even with Neo here watching me, it gets lonesome…”_

 

_Destiny looked over to the book her father was reading to her earlier off of the dresser; she turned on a small flashlight and took the book and re-read through it._

 

_“The Widow in this story wished for someone to talk too because she was lonely like I am… Maybe...” Destiny shook her head and closed the book, “What am I thinking? It’s only a fairytale…”_

 

_Destiny laid back in her pillow, holding the book and her mother’s bear close to her. She looked up to the ceiling clenching both of the items. She hated to admit it, but honestly she wanted the story to be real. A flower that could give what a person desired; She wanted the story to be true._

 

_If it the flower, the Efah was real, she would wish for a friend._

 

_She didn’t have any friends that were around her age, or a teenager, or anyone really. Sometimes, other kids in the park would catch a glimpse of her right eye, and they would end up running in another direction. Or even, if she had told them who her father is, they would say awful things about him and her, despite what she had told them about him. She just wanted a friend, even if it was just the one. A friend that would accept her for what her father is, or the way she looked. A friend to talk to, a friend to play with when her father, or Neo were away, a friend that would always--_

 

**_SLAM!_ **

 

_Destiny jumped when she heard her window clatter and slam from a sudden harsh wind just outside, causing her attention to turn to it. That’s when she saw it in the moonlight; there was a flower just outside of the window, which she found strange. There was no dirt, no soil for the flower to grow outside her window; the only thing out there was a fire escape. Destiny climbed out of bed, throwing a blanket over her shoulders; she walked towards the window holding her bag of medicine in her hand._

 

_She placed the medicine on the window sill and turned the lock on the window, before sliding it open. There it was, a single tulip with unnatural petals and stem, similar to the story. Though she found it odd for it to be there, considering the fact that there was nothing for the flower to grow on. Without hesitation, Destiny took the flower from the platform and quickly closed the window as the cold air came in. She looked at the flower with curious eyes, still wondering what it was doing out there, or for that matter how it was growing. All these questions came up in her head, but she couldn’t find an answer to it. Still she couldn’t help but find it odd._

 

_To tired to think about it, she decided to go to sleep; she went to place the tulip into a small vase of roses that sat on the dresser next to her bed. With the tulip in place, she climbed up onto bed, and went to sleep, as she had decided to think about this manner when morning came._

  
_(_ **_Opening Theme: Let's Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )


	2. Red Like Roses

( ** _Opening Theme: Let's Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_** )

 

In a forest just outside a village nearby, three people walked beside one another; one possessed long black hair and wearing a sleeveless tailcoat with a black turtleneck with a pair of white pants and with pink-to-black detached sleeves and a green beaded bracelet with a certain logo, while the other had shoulder length orange hair that was curled upward with a pair of pink gloves and a white top with the heart cut out diagonally and pink skirt with a pair of white calf-length boots wearing a pink skirt with a matching two wide belt and wearing a blue-black bomber jacket with pink stripes, and a pink white beaded bracelet with a logo.

 

Their names being Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie.

 

Beside them was another girl that possessed gray pigtails and a single prosthetic leg and the other had a pair of fox ears and a tail.

 

Their names were Rosario Black and Scout Lapis.

 

They were all talking about determining a team name.

 

“Seriously Nora, I’m not trying to offend you or anything but that name just sounds dumb.” Rosario said to Nora.

 

“Look I’m just saying, that there’s more members of team JNPR than there is RWBY.” Nora said to her, “It just makes sense to go with **_that one_ **!”

 

“But junior isn’t a color.” Ren said.

 

“Exactly my point!” Rosario said, “I mean at least our team has a color name.”

 

“Nora, we’re not trying to say that it’s a bad name, but all we’re saying is the other team name would make more sense.” Scout said.

 

Nora groaned as she slumped over, “How can I be more clear to you guys!?”

 

Nora held out her hand and the name JNRR just suddenly appeared, leaving Rosario and Scout stunned at this. “One, two, three.” Nora said pointing at the letters before pointing at the last letter being R, “That’s more than one.”

 

“But we’re helping Ruby with her objective.” Ren said holding out his hand that suddenly having the word RNJR appear, pointing at the first letter, “Shouldn’t that mean that Ruby is our leader?”

 

“Okay, how are you doing that?” Rosario asked the two of them.

 

“Doing what?” Ren and Nora asked at the same time.

 

“Guys. We need to stay focused.”

 

There attention was drawn over to Jaune who was crouching just in front of a log and beside him was Roman, Melody (Playing on her guitar) with her little fox friend named Frosty who was on her shoulder and a familiar girl holding an umbrella above her head and having an odd eye color of pink and brown.

 

She had pink and brown hair with a single streak of white, that was in a pair of corkscrew pigtails that was pink and brown and she had on a pair of black gloves. She wore a brown and pink jacket with white collars on the neck of her jacket and wrist collars as well a brown and pink corset with black laces that had also wrapped around her neck, and it had revealed her stomach area.

 

She had on a pink and brown skirt with black cropped leggings and she had on a pair of ankle high white boots. Around her waist she hand on a black ribbon. She just stood there twirling the umbrella in her hand every now and than.

 

“Also JNRR sounds way cooler.” Jaune had added.

 

“Seriously?” Rosario and Scout said.

 

“See?! I told you!” Nora said to them.

 

“Why are spending your time talking about team names?” Roman asked them.

 

“Nora did bring it up in conversation.” Scout replied.

 

“So you guys are just arguing over team names for JNPR?” He asked them.

 

“How else are we supposed to pass the time?” Rosario said.

 

“How long are we supposed to just stand here and wait?” The girl with pink and brown hair said, “They should be here by now.”

 

“Don’t worry Neapolitan.” Melody said to the girl named Neapolitan AKA, Neo, “If I know my cousin and our leader, they’re not ones to keep us waiting.”

 

Just as Melody said this, they all felt the ground shake, which caused some of them to stumble. “It’s here.” Jaune said.

 

From a distance they saw Ruby Rose fly out of the trees leaving behind rose petals in her wake, firing on something. Out from the trees a creature, what appeared to be a rock Grimm, came rushing at Ruby just as she landed in the other trees behind her.

 

“ **BAD--LANDING--STRATEGY!** ” Ruby yelled as she fell onto the large branches. She finally stopped her falling and landed on the branch. The giant rock Grimm swung it’s giant arm at her and before it could hit her, she used her semblance to fly out of there with her speed and land in another tree. Just when it was about to attack her again, shots were fired from above.

 

From the skies, Cristal flew on her Grimm Griffon named Senka while she fired from her dual shotguns swords.

 

It tried to hit her out of the air but Senka proved to be a fast flyer as he proved to be evasive.

 

Jaune said to the group, “Let’s get that thing off of them!”

 

Everyone nodded their heads and had started to move. Roman used his cane’s grappling hook to get into the trees; Neo took his hand and they both moved into the trees. Rosario with the help of her guns on her feet into the trees and ran up onto a large branch. Ren jumped into the trees onto the branch with the others. Frosty jumped off of Melody’s shoulder and she used her semblance to change into a crow, and flew to the branches before changing back again.

 

“Don’t forget me!” Nora yelled.

 

She armed herself with her Magnid and rocketed up into the skies before landing on a branch, while Jaune stayed on the ground along with Scout and Frosty who was now on Jaune’s shoulder.

 

“We need to draw it’s attention away from Ruby and Cristal!” Ren said to the group.

 

“That’s easier said than done!” Roman yelled to them.

 

“ **WE COULD USE SOME BACKUP!** ” Ruby yelled to them as she flew by them.

 

“ **DON’T MEAN TO BREAK UP YOUR CHAT, BUT YOU GUYS COULD JUMP IN ANYTIME!** ” Cristal yelled flying by them while still on Senka’s back.

 

“Let’s move!” Rosario yelled to Melody.

 

“Got it!” Melody said, before changing her guitar into her arm blade.

 

Rosario used her weapons on her heels to rocket herself onto the rock Grimm, so that she could land on it’s arm, while Melody took flight to the skies after changing into a crow once more. As Rosario landed on it’s arm, she ran along it before she kicked at the monster’s face causing it to fire bullets, though it didn’t seem to do any damage whatsoever. Melody changed back and found herself free falling; as she fell she started to fire onto the rock Grimm like creature, though just like with Rosario’s attacks, it didn’t seem to do anything. Melody quickly changed back into a crow and flew under its fist before it could hit her, but Rosario ended up falling off when it moved the arm she was on.

 

Luckily, Senka had flown just under Rosario and she landed just behind Cristal; they took to the skies once more.

 

Ren than made his move; he jumped from through the trees and, as the Grimm had tried to hit him. Ren jumped and ran along the arm as Rosario had did before, but instead he jumped into the air, before he came falling towards the creature, and using his Stormflower he attacked it head on, though it didn’t even phase it.

 

“We gotta get in closer!” Jaune said to the group.

 

Ren landed beside Scout and Jaune, “My blades don’t hurt him!”

 

Melody turned back as she was now beside them as well, “Not even bullets do anything!”

 

“Let’s see if it can handle this than!” Roman said, “Neo!”

 

Neo nodded to him before she jumped from branch to branch. A hidden gun soon came out from Neo’s sleeve and she fired at the Grimm to draw it’s attention; it came after her, trying to grab her. Roman armed his cane and aimed for the mask. He pulled the trigger and with a whistle it fired a shot. However the Grimm creature was able to block the attack with it’s arm and it still wasn’t even phased. It went to attack Neo but when it hit her she shattered like glass.

 

She was now on the ground, with Ren, Scout, Jaune and Frosty.

 

“Even that didn’t work!?” Scout exclaimed.

 

“How about this!?” Ruby yelled. She reached in her ammo compartment and armed her Crescent Rose with dust bullets which was of lighting. With a leap into the air she fired the weapon and it shot lighting. Though the arm had started to glow red, and slammed on the ground, creating a powerful gust of wind that had sent everyone flying even Cristal, Rosario and Senka were knocked out of the sky. Neo managed to catch Roman, while Nora caught Ren.

 

Ruby, Cristal, Rosario, Melody, and Scout even Frosty and Senka managed to stick the landing, though Jaune on the other hand hit a rock where his Johnnies were and slid down on the floor landing face first.

 

“Oh my goodness!” Scout exclaimed, “Are you okay Jaune!?”

 

“You’ll be fine…” Jaune said mimicking, “Your the strategist.”

 

“Yup, he’s okay.” Roman said, as Neo helped him on the ground.

 

“That’s it!” Nora exclaimed before she started to run.

 

As she ran she spun her weapon equipping her hammer, and she jumped high into the air. With a single swing she was able to break it’s arm. As Nora landed on the ground, black mist took hold of a large boulder and it flew towards her. Ruby jumped in front of her and sliced the boulder in two, the Grimm came at them and tried to hit them but they jumped back.

 

Jaune got up from the floor and stretched his arms before he heard Cristal yell, “ **INCOMING!** ”

 

They all moved and Jaune realized that small rocks were coming towards them. Jaune jumped in the air dodging the rocks and such. “Hey guys be careful!” Jaune yelled before getting in the face with a rock, falling backwards into a tree nearby; Scout ran to his side to check on him, while Frosty took the opportunity to climb up on his shoulder.

 

“ **GUYS LOOK!** ” They heard Melody yell.

 

Jaune and Scout looked and they saw the Grimm suddenly grow instantly and it was a black claw hand.

 

“Uh-oh.” Jaune said.

 

“That can’t be good.” Scout said. The Grimm had grabbed ahold of a tree and it was now it’s new arm.

 

“ **THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT GOOD!** ” Scout yelled as she started to run with Jaune.

 

“ **HIS ARM IS A TREE! HIS ARM IS A TREE!** ” Jaune yelled as he ran with Scout.

 

“Red!” Roman yelled.

 

“Right!” Ruby said arming her Crescent Rose with another dust bullets which was of fire “You made a big mistake!”

 

They both fired their weapons and the fire and his flare shot combined; it had hit the the Grimms tree arm. Scout and Jaune stopped in their tracks and saw that it might’ve done something to it. Only to see that it’s arm was now on fire.

 

“ **BIG MISTAKE!!** ” Jaune and Scout yelled.

 

The Grimm swiped it’s arm and Scout had gotten in front of Jaune and armed her weapons. She pressed the button and the blade had extended and the blade was made of ice. With a slash she managed to slice the end of the tree so that it wouldn’t be able to hit them.

 

Though they quickly started to run when it tried to hit them again. Jaune ended up tripping and falling and Scout acted fast. She grabbed Jaune’s hand and activated her semblance and the tree phased right through them. When the Grimm lifted the tree, Scout’s semblance deactivated and started to breath heavily, having exhausted her energy *****.

 

( ** _*Scout maybe able to use her semblance to phase if she’s providing for two people, it drains a significant amount of energy and it cuts the usual amount of time the semblance lasts and recovers._ ** )

 

“Scout!” Jaune exclaimed catching her before she fell to the ground.

 

The Grimm went to attack them again but Ren used his Storm Flowers blades as boomerangs to slice the mask, making the the Grimm fall over on it’s back.

 

The group joined with Jaune and Cristal went over to Scout, who had just passed out. “Neo, get her somewhere safe.” Cristal said.

 

“You got it.” Neo said, going over and picked up Scout, before running into the forest.

 

“We gotta take out this thing somehow!” Roman said.

 

Jaune immediately started to think of a plan.

 

“Ok, how do we go about this?” Jaune said.

 

“It’s body is too thick!” Ren said.

 

“It doesn’t care about it’s body!” Jaune said.

 

“Plus it keeps creating new limbs!” Nora added.

 

Jaune in turn had added, “But it keeps protecting it’s face.”

 

“We can’t break it!” Ruby said.

 

“If you were thinking of a plan now would be a good time to put it into action!” Rosario said, “That thing is starting to get back up!” As the Grimm started to get back up Jaune was quick to put together what they needed to do.

 

“If we cut off all of its limbs at once and went for the…” Jaune said before his eyes widened in realization; He turned to the group, “Guys! I got it!” He said, “We just hit it harder!”

 

Everyone just gave Jaune a confused look over in his direction.

 

“Is that it?” Ren said with a quizzical look.

 

“I was under the impression we were already doing that.” Melody said.

 

“No I’m being serious.” Jaune said, “It keeps trying to defend it’s face. If we kill the limbs we’ll have a shot to kill the whole thing!”

 

“That sounds so stupid it might just work.” Roman said.

 

“Alright team!” Ruby said to Nora, Roman and Ren, “Let’s do this!”

 

“Yeah!” Nora said with enthusiasm.

 

Cristal turned to Melody and Rosario, “Do what you can to help them!”

 

“Right!” Rosario and Melody said.

 

They all saw the Grimm get back up on it’s feet, Jaune quickly told them where to go.

 

“Ruby! Left!” Jaune said, as everyone went in their direction, “Ren! Right! Roman focus on the legs! Cristal, Rosario, Melody, same directions! Nora! You ready to try your new upgrade?”  

 

Nora nodded her head before going in a random direction.

 

“Okay!” Jaune said, “Than I’ll-- **AGH!** ” Jaune started to run again as the Grimm tried to hit him.

 

Ruby and Cristal attacked from the right; With Senka’s help they were able to fly towards it. Ruby jumped off of Senka and used her semblance to fly towards it. She attacked with her Crescent Rose before she was sent flying back. Cristal equipped her swords and activated the whip mode, and turned on it’s dust enhancement. She swung her sword and attacked it’s around it’s arm; though as she was able to hit it, there was suddenly ice. Despite this it was able to break free and knocked her and Senka out of the air once again.  Ren along with Melody attacked from the left, with Melody having equipping her scythe mode. They both charged at it head on, slicing and dicing before getting pushed back by the creature.

 

As Jaune made himself a target he was being extremely careful as Roman attacked the creature’s legs with the use of his Melodic Cudgel; he reloaded his weapon at one point before firing once more. Rosario ran along the ground as well; kicking her legs at the creature so that bullets would fire from her heels, aiming for the same place Roman was hitting.

 

All while this was happening Nora had activated her semblance and was sending the electricity straight to her hammer.

 

“ **READY!** ” She yelled to the group.

 

Ruby and her cousin Melody flew high into the air and dove at the creature, swinging there scythes, though they weren’t surprised when there wasn’t even a scratch. Ruby landed next to Jaune, while Melody landed on the other side.

 

“ **USE EVERYTHING YOU GOT!** ” Jaune shouted.

 

Ruby nodded and activated her semblance; She flew straight at the Grimm taking Nora with her. As they flew towards the Grimm red petals and pink swirled around like a drill, than Ruby sliced up it’s arm before Nora took a swing of her hammer and Nora hit the mask and it’s body came apart.

 

A phantom like creature flew out of the boulder and into the trees.

 

“Now! Before it builds itself a new body!” Cristal said to Ruby.

 

Ruby nodded and flipped her scythe and pulled the trigger firing a shot from her Crescent Rose; Just as the phantom like Grimm creature turned, the bullet had gone clean through it’s head and it had vanished into black vapor.

 

Jaune caught his breath and stood up from the ground, “Whew! Another victory for team CRMS and JNRR!”

 

Everyone stood their in silence before had broken it by saying, “Okay yeah, Ren, you might be onto something. It’s just not sounding great anymore.”

 

“Thank you!” Rosario said.

 

“You don’t understand my vision!” Nora said to Rosario.

 

Roman face-palmed himself, “Are you seriously still on about this?”

* * *

 - ** _A Few Moments Later_ ** -

 

Both teams, RNJR and CRMS had headed back into town, while Roman and Neo stayed on the outside with Senka, since they couldn’t exactly come strolling into the town, because one Roman and Neo’s reputation and with Senka, everyone would just run away with tails between their legs just at the mere sight of him, and that would definitely not end well.

 

Ruby was currently shaking the town’s officials hand.

 

“We truly can’t thank you all enough.” The Official said.

 

“We’re just doing our job sir.” Ruby said with a smile.

 

“That Geist had been plaguing us for weeks.” The Official said to them, “We were beginning to wonder if we’d have to relocate.”

 

Cristal said to the Official, “We’re on our way to Mistral sir. If you want, you and your people can come with us.”

 

The Official chuckled amusingly before saying, “I take it your not from these parts. Anima is a large continent. I’m afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more.”

 

“Oh that’s not necessary sir.” Scout said to the Official.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” Rosario said.

 

Ren added, “Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient.”

 

Both teams bowed their heads in respect before bidding their farewells to the Official. They had decided to head to the town's blacksmith, to pick up Jaunes new upgrade and than resupply.

* * *

 The teams arrived at the Blacksmith shop just in time, since the store owner had just finished up Jaune’s new upgrade. The Blacksmith placed his new armor on the counter.

 

“There you go son.” The Owner said to Jaune, “It’s going to be heavier than what you’re used to, but you’ll thank me you go up the next set of claws.”

 

“Wow…” Jaune said impressed by the armor, “I don’t know what to say.”

 

“Don’t gotta say anything!” The Owner said, “Just put it on! I’ll go get the rest.”

 

With that the Owner went into the back room of the shop. Frosty had jumped from Melody’s shoulder and took a sniff at it as he tilted his head curiously. “Looks like even Frosty is impressed by his work.” Melody said to Jaune with a smile.

 

“So… What are you waiting for?” Nora said, “Try it on.”

 

“Oh!” Jaune said, “Right!”

 

He removed his old armor, and placed it on the counter next to the new one. Jaune couldn’t help but look at it solemnly, “Guess I was gonna grow out of it eventually.”

 

“A sign of progress.” Ren said with a smile.

 

Jaune cracked a smile, “Right, progress.”

 

Jaune turned back to the group, and that’s when Ruby and Melody started to laugh at the sight of his hoodie. “Huh? What is it?” Jaune said.

 

“What is that!?” Ruby said pointing at the symbol on his chest.

 

On the middle of his hoodie was a cute little rabbit in the middle of his hoodie. “What my hoodie?” Jaune said, “I’ve always had this hoodie!”

 

Melody laughed out loud as she said, “Are you serious!? You have that kind of a hoodie!”

 

“It’s got a cute little bunny rabbit!” Ruby said as she continued to laugh.

 

Jaune said to the two girls laughing, “It’s Pumpkin Pete! You know the cereal!”

 

Melody laughed louder, “Oh my God Jaune! You’re killing me here!”

 

“What did you do!? Send in a box top for a prize!?” Ruby said, holding her stomach.

 

“Yeah! Fifty!” Jaune said turning away from them. At that point Ruby and Melody laughed hysterically. Ruby fell to the ground kicking her legs while Melody feel to her knees while holding her stomach. “Oh my God I’m crying…” Melody said wiping her eyes.

 

“I actually think it’s kind of cool.” Scout commented.

 

“Of course you do kid.” Rosario said patting her head.

 

“But I’m a teenager.” Scout said with a pout.

 

“Nah, that’s technically kid age.” Cristal said, “No offense.”

 

The Owner soon came back with his weapon and shield.

 

“Can’t have a Huntsmen without his weapon.” The Owner said, “I made all the modifications you asked for.” There on the shield that had expanded had a golden outline and at the bottom of it, it had a familiar crown shape.

 

“That was some fine piece of metal you bought for me.” The Owner said, “Accents the white nicely. Where’d you get it from?”

 

Jaune looked to the crown insignia, and couldn’t help but think back to the who had once wore it.

 

“ **_From a friend…_ ** ” Was all Jaune replied.

 

The group waited outside for Jaune, wanting to give him privacy to put on the armor. After a few moments he stepped out of the store, who now wore a red scarf around his waist and now most of his armor was outlined with golden, even his armored gauntlets.

 

He drew his sword and expanded his shield and they were all left impressed by his new look.

 

The Owner came out and took a look at his work. “He cleans up alright, don’t you think?”

 

“He most certainly does.” Ren said

 

“I still think a grenade launcher would’ve really bought the look together.” Nora said.

 

“It’s not really his style.” Cristal said, “I like this look.”

 

“Nothing’s gonna stop team RNJR and team CRMS now!” Ruby said with her fist up in the air.

 

“Team JNRR!” Nora said.

 

“Still not a color.” Ren said.

 

“We’re seriously still on about that?” Rosario said.

 

“Guys, it doesn’t matter what we’re called.” Jaune said, sheathing his sword after it shrunk back, “As long as we’re together.”

 

“You sure you kids won’t stick around?” The Owner asked them, “You’ve done a great deal for this town.”

 

“It is a tempting offer, but I’m afraid we’re gonna have to decline.” Cristal said.

 

“We’ve got another mission we have to take care of.” Ruby said placing her hand over where the bracelet was.

 

“Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!” Nora added.

 

“We heard the next village over has a working airship.” Ren said.

The owner thought about it, “Hmm, no way to know for sure. Scroll signals have been weak enough even back when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven’t heard from Shion village in awhile.”

 

“There’s only one way to find out.” Scout said.

 

Both teams bid there farewells and went outside of town to meet up with the others. Roman and Neo were hiding behind the trees and saw them coming along the pathway. Senka came out from hiding and went over to Cristal.

 

“Hey there friend.” Cristal said as Senka nuzzled her cheek; she petted him on the beak, “You miss me already?”

 

Roman looked over Jaune's new armor, “Nice touch there Arky.” Roman said to Jaune.

 

“Oh well thanks.” Jaune said rubbing the back of his head.

 

“Don’t get used to it.” Neo said to him with a smile, “That’s the only comment you’re going to get out of him.”

 

“Time to move onward to Mistral!” Ruby said.

 

“Where did that enthusiasm come from?” Roman asked.

 

“I choose not to question it anymore.” Neo said.

 

“She’s right though, time to get moving.” Cristal said.

 

Everyone started to walk along down the dirt path and Jaune went over the check list.

 

“Food?” Jaune said.

 

“Check!” Nora said.

 

“Water?”

 

“Check!

 

“How about ammo?”

 

“Locked and loaded! Thank you **_Schnee Dust Company!_ ** ”

 

Ruby couldn’t but have a sadden look at the mentioning of the name Schnee. At thought of it, she couldn’t help but think about her partner, Weiss. She remembered the days in school at Beacon, and than back the Vytal Festival. She thought just about the fact that she’d may never see her again. It just pained her at the thought.

 

It wasn’t long before she felt Melody pat on the shoulder. “Something wrong Ruby?” Melody asked.

 

“Huh?” Ruby said before saying with a smile, “Oh no, don't worry! Everything's fine!”

 

Melody just gave her a really look at that, “Cuz come on. I practically grew up with you and Yang whenever my old man was away on missions, and I know a droopy face when I see one. What’s wrong? I’m family, you know you can tell me.”

 

Ruby let out a sigh as she replied, “I was just thinking about my partner. Weiss, the one I told you about through the video chat.”

 

“Oh yeah, the Heiress.” Melody said remembering, “Yeah, I remember, you told me really great things about her. She’s a really great partner for you.”

 

“Yeah…” Ruby said, “... I just wonder what she’s doing right now. If she’s thinking about me, Blake, Yang… And…”

 

“... **_Destiny_ **?” Melody finished for her.

 

All Ruby did was nod her head in reply, “... I don’t know if Weiss is even looking for her after she went missing but… I’m just… Worried. Not just about Destiny, but about Weiss too. What if she’s forgotten about me?”

 

Melody gave a comforting pat on her shoulder as she said, “Don’t worry Ruby. I can tell Destiny meant a lot to you, and that Weiss meant a lot, but one thing I do know for sure, is that having a friend, a partner like Weiss, they never tend to forget.”

 

“How do you know that?” Ruby asked curiously.

 

“I learned it from my old man.” Melody replied, “He was partnered up with your mom, Auntie Summer, rest her soul. Let me tell you… From what he’s told me, he’s remembered every single thing about her, and he said that someone like Auntie Summer is not one you could easily forget. Hell he talked about her more than my own mom.”

 

Ruby smiled and said, “Thanks Melody, I feel a little better.”

 

“It’s what family’s for.” Melody said with a smile, “And don’t worry about Destiny. We’ll find her whatever it takes.”

 

“I know we will.” Ruby replied.

 

Soon enough their attention was drawn to Scout, who called out to her partner.

 

“Uh hey Melody!” Scout called out.

 

“What is it?” She asked.

 

“You or Ruby don’t by any chance have the map do you?” Scout asked.

 

“No, we thought Nora had it.” Ruby replied, “Why?”

 

The group looked at one another, while some of them hissed through their breathing.

 

“This is a **_real_ ** problem.” Rosario said running her hand through her hair.

 

“Tell me about…” Was all Jaune said as he slumped over as Nora laughed nervously. “This is exactly why we can’t have nice things.” Roman said as he face palmed himself.

* * *

 - ** _Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_The rest of Ruby’s friends and Roman’s partner had met up with her and Roman, only to see that the problem was already taken care of. Of course they were slightly skeptical about the new team calling themselves team CRMS when they first saw them, until Ruby told them that Melody was actually her cousin. When team CRMS had introduced themselves to them, they were all shocked about seeing Cristal._

 

 _Just like Ruby, when they saw Cristal’s face, they all thought they saw…_ **_Her_ ** _. Their little friend…_ **_Destiny_ ** _._

 

_But there was no way it couldn’t be possible. They all knew the story, they all knew she had went missing. But they couldn’t help but think of her. She looked like her. But it couldn’t be possible… Could it?_

 

_They had decided to camp out nearby where the people where the town was, in case any creature of Grimm had decided to come back to finish the job. As they sat around the campfire, they had explained to team CRMS everything; what had happened in Beacon, why they were with a criminal like Roman, and traveling to Mistral in the first place._

 

_And needless to say they were surprised._

 

_“So let me get this straight…” Melody said at one point turning to Roman, “Not only are you guys looking to get answers at the Mistral's Academy Haven… But you’re trying to find a little girl named Destiny who went missing… And she’s also his daughter who he kept on a strictly need to know bases, since he, her and his partner arrived in Vale?”_

 

_“That’s pretty much the whole story.” Ruby said._

 

_Melody, Scout and Rosario looked at one another, though Cristal on the other hand turned her attention away from the conversation. “That’s… Whoa… That’s a whole lot to take in.” Rosario said just stunned at this point._

 

_“You have no idea.” Jaune said, “Trust us. We were shocked the first time we heard that she was his daughter.”_

 

_Scout turned to Roman, “I’m really sorry that she was taken for you, and I really hope you find her on this journey.”_

 

_Roman looked over in Scout’s direction before taking a puff from his cigar, “Honestly… I’m hoping for the same thing.”_

 

_“And to think she can talk to Grimm let alone calm one…” Melody said, “I didn’t think that was possible.” Melody looked in Cristal’s direction who had pretty much blocked out the whole conversation and was leaning against Senka while looking up at the sky. “Than again…” Melody said with a shrug._

 

_“You mean she can do the same thing Destiny can?” Nora said._

 

_“Well, she can talk to one sure.” Melody replied, “But I don’t know about calming a Grimm.”_

 

_“What about all of you?” Neo asked the three members of team CRMS, “What business do you have in Mistral?”_

 

 _The three members of CRMS looked to one another before Scout had replied, “We’re going the same reasons you are. We’re hoping to find answers, and find the whereabouts of_ **_Cristal’s friend_ ** _.”_

 

_“Her friend?” Ruby said, looking over to Cristal._

 

_“Yep.” Rosario said, “She said her friend was taken by someone, and she’s hoping that she’ll be able to find her. Only problem is she can’t really say who that person is.”_

 

_“Can’t or won’t?” Ren asked._

 

_“From what she said it’s both.” Rosario replied, “Though she wouldn’t tell us why.”_

 

_“Looks like we’re all heading in the same direction than.” Jaune said, “I’d say that’s pretty convenient.”_

 

_“No kidding…” Melody said, “Who knew I would bump into my cousin all the way out here.”_

 

_“I’m just as surprised as you are Melody.” Ruby said to her with a smile._

 

_Nora than thought of something, “Hey! Since we’re all heading going to Mistral, you should all come with us!”_

 

_Rosario, Melody and Scout’s jaw dropped simultaneously at that._

 

_“Have us go with you?” Scout asked._

 

_“Not sure sounds like we would be bothersome.” Melody said._

 

_“Plus, some of us barely know you, hell we just met an hour ago.” Rosario said._

 

_“It would actually be easier in our case, since we’re all heading in the same direction anyway.” Roman said._

 

_“Yeah!” Ruby agreed, “Plus it wouldn’t be bothersome at all! We could all help each other! Plus it would be extremely helpful if we had a great doctor like you Scout!”_

 

 _Scout blushed out embarrassment while saying, “Well… I’m not_ **_THAT_ ** _great…”_

 

_“Says the girl whose town citizens praised her?” Rosario said._

 

_“They just happened to like my work that’s all.” Scout said._

 

_“So… What do you say?” Ruby said, “You wanna join forces?”_

 

_The three members looked over at one another again. “That’s ultimately up to Cristal, but--” Melody said before getting cut off by her._

 

_“Why not?” Cristal said, causing Rosario, Melody and Scout to look over in her direction, “Like Roman said it would make things easier and as they say the more the merrier. And it would be wrong to separate two family members who had just been reunited.”_

 

_“.... You’re… really serious about this?” Rosario asked with a quizzical look._

 

_“Of course I am.” Cristal said to her._

 

_Melody smiled and laughed, “I’m down for it. Ruby and I have got a whole lot of catching up to do anyway.”_

 

_“You got that right!” Ruby said._

 

_“Aw… What the hell?” Rosario said ultimately shrugging, “What could go wrong with this?”_

 

_“We hope we can get along with you all.” Ren said._

 

_“We’re hoping the same thing.” Scout said with a smile._

 

 _“_ **_HOORAY! NEW FRIENDS!_ ** _” Nora yelled, surprising everyone, “_ **_LET’S BREAK SOMEONE'S LEGS!_ ** _”_

 

_“Uhhh… What?” Rosario said just confused by what Nora had yelled._

 

_Jaune let out a sigh, “You’ll get used to it.”_

 

_Melody took out her guitar while Frosty made himself comfortable on the bed of grass, “What do you say we listen to some tunes before we all hit the hay?”_

 

_“You know some songs?” Ren asked._

 

_“There a lot of songs I know.” Melody said adjusting her guitar, “I memorized a lot at the top of my head. Though their days where I just decide to write songs just for the hell of it, which happens rarely so often.”_

 

_“Roman?” Cristal said, “Can I have a word with you privately?”_

 

_Roman nodded and he got up from the floor, following Cristal away from the group. Ruby couldn’t help but find that suspicious as she watched them disappear into the trees nearby._

* * *

 - ** _Present; Somewhere in Remnant_ ** -

 

Salem sat in the middle of a pool of black slime, though at the center of it, Destiny laid in a canopy bed under red sheets just sound asleep, breathing softly and barely stirring from her slumber even when she sat at her bedside. The room they were both in was not small yet not even large, and there was just a single large window that showed the land of red and forests of dust crystals, with a significant amount of Grimm just roaming throughout the land.

 

It took her time to prepare this room for the child, time that was well spent. Anyone, anyone from the outside wouldn’t even get near her if they tried. The pool of black slime wasn’t there just for show. Salem had spent so long looking for someone like the girl before her, and she couldn’t let anyone take her, nor could she let them kill her.

 

She was too valuable, to important to let her die, and she would be damned if she had to start from scratch.

 

A knock had echoed throughout the room, and Salem turned slightly to see that it was the leader of team **_SADE_ ** (Shade).

 

**_Sinn._ **

 

“Mistress.” She said, bowing slightly, “We have gathered **_them_ ** as you instructed. They’re waiting for you.”

 

She replied with a hollow voice, “Thank you Sinn.”

 

Salem stood and walked on the path that was provided to get through the pool of black slime; as she soon as she had gotten to the other side, the path had seemed to have disappeared. As she exited the room, the two types of Grimm, the tiger and deer stood just outside. Salem nodded to Sinn and she in turn nodded back, before Salem proceeded down the hall.

 

She turned to the other three members, **_Azure, Diamond and Elise_ ** had been standing nearby. “Azure.” Sinn said to her, “Lock it up.”

 

Azure nodded her head and with a snap of her fingers, a snake, a black head of a **_King Taijitu_ ** had emerged from her back and wrapped around her arm. She opened her hand and the second head of the Taijitu coughed up a small black key. Azure took the key and approached the door closing it shut, using the key; With a click it was locked.

 

She held the key in the palm and the second head of the Taijitu took hold of the key with it’s tongue, and it had swallowed it whole before going back into her back.

 

Team SADE had soon followed behind Salem.

* * *

 In a large windowed room, four people sat around a crystal like table filled with seven chairs, one of them was sitting in a strange way; they looked as though they were expecting someone. **_Mercury Black_ ** , and **_Emerald Sustrai_ ** stood by a window looking onto the land of red, seeing Creatures of Grimm emerging from it the slime. Emerald had a look of horror on her face while Mercury looked as though he was disgusted by the sight of it.

 

Someone had snapped their fingers, and just from that, Mercury and Emerald went to the person's side.

 

This person was revealed to be **_Cinder, the Fall Maiden_ **. Her hair was cut short and she wore a long red dress with a single sleeve covering her entire arm. Her face however told a different story; Her face had a scar in the form of an X just over the bridge of her nose and an eyepatch had covered her left eye.

 

Emerald and Mercury stood by her side, but Emerald pushed Mercury since he was standing in her way.

 

A man that sat across from Cinder, by the name of **_Watts_ ** had said as he fixed his tie, “Yes, please keep your… **_posse_ ** in check.”

 

Mercury glared over at Watts, and when he was about to go at him Emerald stopped him. All Cinder did was look over in their direction, but strangely said nothing.

 

“You hear that?” Watts said to his comrades, “ **_Silence_ **. I have half the mind to thank the little girl that bested you.”

 

A man that had just sat one seat away from Cinder that sat strangely in his seat, named **_Tyrian_ ** had said to her, “If I were you I’d hunt her down” He snickered, “Find her and well… **_She took your eye_ ** didn’t she?”

 

All Cinder could was stare as Tyrian let out a loud and unsettling cackle. Cinder had tried to say something but her voice came out raspy and was hard to hear her words. She turned over to Emerald, who had leaned in to listen what she had whispered.

 

“Pathetic.” Watts said, “Why did you even--”

 

Watts’s sentence was soon cut short when they heard a latch open from the other side; the room suddenly grew into an eerie silence. The doors opened and they quickly stood. Sinn, Azure, Diamond and Elise entered, and in pairs they stood on opposite ends of the entrance, before they bowed.

 

Salem stepped into the room leaving a slight trail of black vapor in her wake. She walked alongside the table with the sound of soft footsteps; she reached to the purple crystals just at the other end of the room, stopping in her tracks.

 

“Watts.” She said, making him flinch slightly; she turned to them, eyeing Watts in particular with her orange eyes glowing slightly, “Do you find such malignance necessary?”

 

She gestured them all to sit, and they all did, except for Watts. Azure and Diamond shut the double doors, before they all went to where Salem had taken a seat which what looked like a crystal throne.

 

“Apologies ma’am.” Watts said calmly, “I’m not particular fond of failure.”

 

He took a seat and team SADE now stood beside Salem; Sinn and Azure stood on her right side while Diamond and Elise stood on her left.

 

“Than I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder.” Salem said, “She’s become our Fall Maiden, found the child Destiny, destroyed Beacon Tower, and most importantly… **_Killed dear Ozpin_ **. So I’m curious, to what failure are you referring?”

 

They all sat there in silence before Watts had spoken again, “Well… **_The girl with the Silver Eyes_ **.”

 

“Yes.” A man named **_Hazel_ ** said, who sat a seat away from Watts said, “We’ve dealt with her kind before. How is it a novice was able to best one of us?”

 

“My thoughts exactly.” Watts said, “Even with her new power, it should have been effortless.”

 

“It is because of the **_Maiden’s powers_ ** .” Salem said, “Make no mistake Cinder. You, Destiny, and **_the Rogue_  **hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment.”

 

Cinder turned away looking unhappy to hear that and Emerald couldn’t help but give a sympathetic look over in her direction.

 

“Dr. Watts.” Salem said turning to him, “You, Sinn and Azure are to take Cinder’s place and meet with our informant in Mistral.”

 

“Very good.” Watts said.

 

“Tyrian.” Salem said to him, “I want you to continue to hunt for **_the Spring Maiden._ ** ”

 

Tyrian let out an unsettling chuckle, “Gladly.”

 

“And Hazel.” Salem said, “I’m sending you, Diamond and Elise to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Tarrus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. **_Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same_ **.”

 

“As you wish.” Hazel said.

 

Team SADE looked to one another, giving an unsure look to one another, recalling what had happened sometime ago where Destiny had tried to escape because of the help of a certain someone. Elise than spoke up, “Mistress, please forgive me for speaking out of turn, but… What of Cristal? She’s still out there looking for the little one, and she had almost escaped because of her. Shouldn’t we be…”

 

All Salem did was lift her hand and Elise had stopped talking. Cinder gestured for Emerald; she didn’t notice at first till she looked in her direction. She leaned and Cinder spoke to her; After a moment Emerald straightened up.

 

“Speak child.” Salem said to Emerald.

 

“She wants to know…” Emerald said hesitantly, “... **_What about the girl?_ ** ”

 

“What about her?” Watts said, “Seems to me like this is Cinder’s problem not ours.”

 

Cinder slammed her fist on the table as she glared over at him; Watts couldn’t help but smirk. Azure was about to arm herself in case there was going to be some kind of fight.

 

“That’s enough.” Salem said to Watts and Cinder.

 

“Azure, calm yourself.” Sinn said to her calmly, “No need to start a fight.”

 

“... Apologies.” Azure said standing straight.

 

Salem turned her attention back to a certain someone, “Tyrian?”

 

“Yes, my lady?” Tyrian said.

 

“Spring can wait.” Salem said, “I want you to take Diamond and Elise, find Cristal, and the girl that did this to Cinder…”

 

Tyrian giggled excitedly and clapped at the sound of going after the girl with silver eyes.

 

“... **_And bring them to me_ **.” Salem finished.

 

Tyrian froze and couldn’t help but groan with disappointment. He pouted only for a second, before looking back to Salem and shrugging.

 

“Great…” Diamond whispered to her partner, “We get paired up with the crazy one.”

 

“You’re gonna have to live with it.” Elise said to her.

 

Salem said to everyone, “Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen…. **_And Haven, will be next_ ** …”

 

Everyone rose from their seats, and Tyrian snickered over at Cinder getting her attention.

 

“ **_Eye for an eye_ ** _…_ ” Tyrian said pointing to his left eye.

 

He started to give an unsettling laughter, as Cinder gritted her teeth. His laughter echoed throughout the entire room and halls.

 

( **_Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana_ ** )


	3. Never Forgotten

- **_Three Years Ago; Vale’s Apartment 3G_ ** -

 

_Destiny just couldn’t seem to get the flower out of her head. That morning she found herself staring at the strange little flower she had found just last night outside by her window, just… Thinking…_

 

_That’s all she thought about that morning, both the flower and the story that had always been her mother's favorite. Could this flower really be an Efah? The same flower that Widow had grown in her garden? It looked exactly like it, sure, though… She didn’t know. It was only a fairytale, she told herself. Fairytales couldn’t be real… Could it?_

 

_The only thing she got was more questions in her head, all which were left unanswered._

 

_Destiny couldn’t help but let out a sigh._

 

_“... It might just be a coincidence…” Destiny said said to herself, “... I hope it is…”_

 

_Destiny heard her stomach let out a growl; she placed her hand over her stomach. “I better go get something to eat…” She said, “... I wonder if dad came back home last night. I could go for some toasts and an omelet…”_

 

_Destiny got up from her bed and carried the bag of medicine with her. She stepped out of the room and walked down the hall. She noticed that her father’s room door was opened slightly. She approached the room and opened even more, and saw her father Roman fast asleep on the king sized bed, answering her question from before. His hat was on the floor and his jacket had been taken off lazily and his gloves and scarf were thrown onto the dresser by the bed, and his Melodic Cudgel was on the floor; she could tell that he had a long night._

 

_After Destiny had picked up the cane, placing it against the closet door, being very careful not to turn off the safety, she walked over to her father’s bedside; standing on her tiptoes. She poked at his cheek, earning a groan from him._

 

_“Daddy?” Destiny said as she started to shake him slightly, “Daddy wake up.”_

 

_He groaned again as he turned over on his side._

 

_He’s really had a long night, she thought to herself._

 

_Destiny climbed up on the bed; struggling to do so, as to not drop the bag of medicine. She crawled onto the bed and practically flopped on him, earning yet another groan from her dad. She started to slam her hands on the bed as she kicked up her legs just to create some movement as he let out more groans._

 

_“Come daddy! Get up!” Destiny said, making her hands into fists, “Wake up daddy! Time to get up now! It’s morning!”_

 

_Just as she did this, she didn’t realize that his hand had started to move. She had only just noticed this, when she suddenly felt fingers run from her stomach to under her arms. She started to laugh as she had just now realized that she was being tickled._

 

_“You think you could get the jump on me?” Roman said using his other hand._

 

 _“_ **_AHAHAHA--NO STOP---HAHAHAHA!_ ** _” Destiny said not being able to control her laughter._

 

_Roman chuckled as he stopped tickling her; Destiny caught her breath. She sat up on the bed and sat pretzel style while Roman sat himself up. “Morning Princess.” Roman said, “I see that someone’s doing better.”_

 

_After Destiny caught her breath she said to her father, “Were you just pretending to sleep?”_

 

_“Well I was actually asleep until you poked my cheek.” Roman replied before he went to pinch her cheek lightly, “Were you trying to be sneaky like your father?”_

 

_Destiny laughed as she playfully hit his hand away, “Maybe I was.” She said with an innocent smile. Roman soon placed his hand on her forehead. “Looks like your fever finally broke.” Roman said, “That’s good news for us.”_

 

_Destiny tilted her head curiously at that, “How come?”_

 

_Roman soon went to the side of the bed now removing his white jacket, “I’m glad you asked dearie.” Roman said to her with a smile, “Because today, you and I are gonna have a Family Fun Day today!”_

 

_Destiny had a gleeful smile on her face at the sound of that, “Really?” She said._

 

_“You bet ya Princess.” Roman said to her, “I’ve got some time to kill, and I would much rather spend it with you today.”_

 

 _Destiny couldn’t but jump in bed at that, “_ **_YAY! HOORAY! FAMILY FUN DAY!_ ** _”_

 

_“Alright, alright, ya little rascal.” Roman said taking her in his arm, “Come here you.”_

 

_Destiny had gotten comfortable in his lap, placing her hands over his._

 

_“We can go anywhere you want in Vale today, just name it.” Roman said to her._

 

_Destiny thought of a place, “Yesterday on TV, I heard something about a fair in the park. Can we go there today?”_

 

_“Consider it done Princess.” Roman said kissing the top of her head, “Just you and me at the fair all day. Just remember to stay close while we’re there alright?”_

 

_“I know daddy.” Destiny said, “And I’ll avoid talking to strangers.”_

 

_“Good girl.” He said, lifting her up off his lap, “Now how about I make us some breakfast?”_

 

_“Toast and omelettes please!” Destiny said._

 

_“You got it, go wash up.” Roman said getting up from his bed. Destiny nodded her head with a smile. While he went to the kitchen, Destiny made her way to the bathroom just down the hall. However she soon stopped in her tracks when she noticed something peculiar in her room. She looked back in her room and noticed that the flower that she had in her room, had already begun to wilt._

* * *

 ( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- ** _Present; Atlas, Schnee Mansion_ ** -

 

Weiss sat in her room looking at the airships that was flying by just outside to where ever they were designated to go. She couldn’t help but reminiscence on the days back at Beacon where she and the rest of teammates just felt… **_Whole_ **. She just thought about the days where Beacon was actually alive, and when she was with her team, and her partner Ruby. Sure, she didn’t become the leader, but she came to accept it overtime.

 

For a moment, she turned to her hands which had rested on her lap. She was eyeing a white and a light blue bracelet that was slightly covered in a gray color, recalling who was the one who had made it for her.

 

Destiny.

 

She and her teammates had gotten them from her as victory bracelets after the first round in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Even after the doubles rounds between Neon and Flynt she surprisingly never got it cleaned, she had just kept it like it was a part of it to begin with. It just held too many memories despite it being only a short time.

 

Honestly she was worried, not only for her teammates but for the child as well. When she had gotten to the safe zone she was as shocked as everyone else that knew Destiny to hear that she had suddenly gone missing. It both worried and scared her. Was she alive? Was she dead? Was she back with Roman? Was she taken?

 

All the questions kept coming up, and all were left unanswered. That was the thought that scared her most.

 

She was soon snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see that it was two young thirteen year old girls. One had gray streaks on her white hair that was tied into a pair of small low pigtails resting on her shoulders tied with blue bands; her eyes were light blue and dark blue and on her head she had red headband. She wore a blue jean jacket and a pair of brown short pants with blue leggings, and a fingerless green gloves with a small kitten face on it, and she wore a pair of black sneakers.

 

The other had her white hair with gray streaks resting on her shoulders with a red ribbon tying back a small ponytail behind her head. She had the same kind of eyes and had freckles on both of her cheeks. She wore a blue dress with a ribbon and white sleeves.

 

Weiss recognized them to be the twins, her younger sister's, Van (Girl with long hair) and Nilla Schnee (Girl with low pigtails).

 

They both looked excited about something; what were they happy about?

 

“Weiss! Weiss!” Nilla said with a big smile while jumping in place, “Van and I finally did it! We finally made them dance, you wanna see?”

 

Oh so that’s what it is, Weiss thought in her head. Weiss let out a small smile as she said, “Alright, show me.”

 

Nilla nodded with a smile and Van nodded while she smiled. Nilla took out a CD player from within her jacket, and a bag of marbles handing a second bag over to Van. She sat the CD player on the table and plugged it into the speaker, before playing a song; it was soft and slow song.

 

Reaching into the bag they each pulled out three small marbles; Nilla’s marbles were marked with snowflakes while Van’s was marked with flames. They both kneeled and allowed them to roll on the floor, far part from each other. They stood up, and with simple movements of their fingers a total of six glyphs appeared where the marbles had stopped; three glyphs were white, while the three others were blue. Mist appeared around them and before Weiss knew it, there were small ice sculptures and figures made from fire the size of toys appeared.

 

All six of them were in the form of ballet dancers. They all danced in sync with the song that was currently playing on the CD player, while Van and Nilla’s eyes were closed shut. Weiss had always been impressed by their abilities. She could see that they took a lot after their mother. They were already at such a young age and already they had such concentration on their glyphs.

 

Weiss was proud of them, and why wouldn’t she be? They were really improving the last time she saw them, and that was before she left for Beacon.

 

After the song had ended, the ice sculptures fire figures had taken a bow, and stood up, just staying in place as they were when they were first formed while the fire figures formed back into marbles.

 

Weiss clapped as Van and Nilla stood up, and they bowed their heads.

 

“Did you really like it Weiss?” Nilla said.

 

“Did you?” Van said.

 

“Of course.” Weiss said with a small smile, “You’ve both really improved since this last year.”

 

Van and Nilla’s smile disappeared from their faces and they looked to each other, before turning back to Weiss.

 

“What?” Weiss said noticing the look on their faces.

 

“Nothing, it’s just… You didn’t sound impressed.” Van said.

 

Nilla tilted her head as she asked with concern, “Is everything okay Weiss?”

 

“What makes you say that?” Weiss asked.

 

Nilla picked up the ice figures and placed them on the table, while Van pulled over two chairs just in front of Weiss; They both took a seat. “Well… You haven’t been like yourself since you came back with Father. You mostly spend your time here in your room.” Van said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

Weiss didn’t answer, she just turned attention over to the window.

 

“Weiss…” Nilla said, “If you’re sad, we can cheer you up. Just tell us what’s wrong.”

 

Weiss looked to the both of them, before letting out a sigh. “I appreciate you both wanting to help, but no offense… You’ve just turned thirteen, and you’re both still children… I don’t know if you would… Understand.”

 

Van and Nilla placed their hands over her own, “We want to try to understand. Please?” Nilla said.

 

“We don’t want you to feel sad Weiss.” Van said “If you tell us, than we’ll understand.”

 

Weiss looked into their different shades of blue eyes; that concern, it reminded her of Ruby, from back when they first discovered Blake's… **_Secret_ **. She showed nothing but concern for when her teammate just ran and when she herself had doubts about Blake at first. How could she say no to a pair of faces like that?

 

However just before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

 

“Yes?” Weiss said.

 

A butler by the name of Klein opened the door and stepped inside. “Pardon the interruption Miss Schnee.” He said to Weiss in particular, “But your father wishes to speak with you.”

 

“... Thank you Klien.” Weiss said, before turning back to the twins, “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll tell you both later.”

 

“... Okay.” Nilla said slightly nodding her head.

 

“Good luck with Father.” Van said.  

 

With that, Weiss stood up from her seat and walked out the door with Klien. Curious to see what their father wanted to say to her, they followed silently behind Weiss, making sure that she didn’t know that she was being followed.

* * *

 

“ **_Do you believe in destiny?_ ** ”

 

“ **_Yes._ ** ”

 

“... **_Jaune_ ** _…”_

 

 _“_ **_PYRRHA!!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_Ruby_ ** _…_ **_I’m sorry_ ** _…”_

 

Ruby let out a gasp as her eyes had shot opened eyes, finding that it was still early in the morning. Over and over again she had this dream with months, all coming to an end after a person who had apologized to her, though the voice belonged to someone she couldn’t recognize.

 

She knew it belonged to a girl, but she swears that she heard it somewhere before, she just couldn’t remember where.

 

She sat herself up from her sleeping only to see that everyone else was sound asleep in their sleeping bags. All except Roman who was just resting against a tree with his bowler hat covering his face. Ruby let out a sigh as she stood up from where she slept, to stretch. Though that’s when she saw that someone was missing from team CRMS; that would be their leader, Cristal.

 

Ruby looked around wondering where she could’ve gone to, but soon got her answer to where she was, when she heard someone say, “Nice to see you up and about.”

 

Ruby turned and saw Cristal walking beside Senka.

 

“Hey there Cristal.” Ruby said, “You’re up early.”

 

“I like early mornings like this.” Cristal said, “And Senka here wanted an early morning flight. What are you doing up?”

 

Ruby rubbed the back of her head as she replied, “Well… Uh… I like… Early mornings too! You know what they say, the early bird get’s the worm!”

 

Cristal just gave a quizzical look to that, “That’s not what I’ve been hearing from Melody. From she’s told me you like to sleep in.”

 

“Oh… She told you that huh…?” Ruby said, holding her head as though she was in pain.

 

Cristal’s expression changed to concern, “There something bothering you, isn’t it?”

 

Ruby didn’t say anything, all she did was looked to her feet as she stood there awkwardly. “You know if you want to…” Cristal said, “... You can tell me. Just one leader to another. And even if you want, I won’t say anything to the others.”

 

Ruby let out a sigh, and looked to Cristal before saying with a reassuring smile, “Thanks, I’ll keep that mind, I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk.”

 

Cristal nodded slightly, still having a look of concern on her face, “Alright. It’s up to you.”

* * *

 - ** _Later_ ** -

 

After the others had woken and a quick meal, they continued down the path to Shion village to find an airship as planned. They had manage to find the map the other day buried in all of the stuff that they could carry in Nora’s bag; turns out she really did have it.

 

Ruby currently lead the group with the Grimm Griffon Senka walking beside them while holding the map in her hands; though she was having a hard time seeing where they were exactly.

 

“Alright let’s see…” Ruby said, thinking aloud, “Uh-huh… Alrighty… Uh…”

 

“Well? Any luck with it?” Neo asked, twirling her umbrella she had over her head.

 

Ruby slumped over as she replied, “I think we’re lost.”

 

“We’re not lost.” Jaune said looking over the map, “The next town is Shion. My family used to visit there all the time.”

 

“That must’ve been nice for you.” Scout said, “I used to go their when I was still staying with teacher, though we’d usually stop by there to get the usual herbs. We couldn’t stay that long.”

 

“That’s a shame, maybe we can see all the sights once we’re there.” Jaune said.

 

“If we have the time for it.” Roman said.

 

“Hold on, when you say family, you mean your whole family?” Melody said.

 

“Didn’t you say, you had like… Eight sisters or something?” Rosario asked.

 

“Seven actually.” Jaune said to Rosario. Ruby couldn’t help but giggle at that. “You know that does explain a lot.” Nora said.

 

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” Jaune asked.

 

“What exactly did you do in the village?” Cristal asked.

 

“I’d like to know that myself.” Ruby said.

 

“Oh all sorts of things!” Jaune said showing Ruby and Cristal where exactly they would go on the map, “Over here is where there’s a great hiking trail, and over here is where we all went camping. I got to have my own tent because I was special!”

 

“Special?” Ruby said with a quizzical look.

 

“That, and so my sisters would stop braiding my hair.” Jaune added.

 

“You didn’t like the look?” Neo asked.

 

“Yeah they just kept doing pigtails.” Jaune replied, “Personally I think I’m more of a “warrior’s wolftail” kind of guy, you know like what Roman has.” Everyone was taken back by what Jaune had said. Who even uses that term, they all thought in unison.

 

“I think the word your looking for is a ponytail Arky.” Roman said to him.

 

“I know what I said.” Jaune said with a smile.

 

Scout soon let out a horrified gasp, and soon the others except for Jaune and Ruby realized why; Ren seem to have tensed up. “Uh… Guys…” Nora said.

 

“What?” Jaune said.

 

Ruby and Jaune picked up their heads and what they saw in front of them had horrified them.

 

“Good God…” Was all Rosario could say.

 

Right in front of them, the village of Shion that was once filled with life, was now in ruins, colored in nothing but gray from the flames that had died down. Not a single peep in the village; dead bodies laid on the ground on the ground, most of them on the side of the road each one more grotesque than the last. The whole group quickly ran inside the village with Ren tossing his bag to the side as he walked ahead of the group.

 

“Stay sharp!” Cristal said to the group, “There maybe survivors!”

 

“Guys, over here!” They heard Ren call out.

 

They ran over to where Ren was. He was beside a man wearing armor and a weapon at his side. His hand was over a wound on his abdomen that was fresh and he was propped up against the wall. “A Huntsman!” Ruby said.

 

Melody ran over to the Huntsman side along wit Scout. “Can you do anything?” Melody asked Scout.

 

“I’ll do what I can.” Scout said; she placed her bag to the side and took out a rag cloth before she started to apply pressure on the wound.

 

As she did this, Roman went over to the man and kneeled in front of him. “What happened here?” He asked, “Who killed all these people?”

 

The Huntsman coughed, and with a raspy voice he replied, “Bandits… A… Whole tribe… And, with all the panic…”

 

“ ** _Grimm_ ** _…_ ” Ren had finished for the Huntsman.  

 

Roman looked to the man’s wound that Scout was struggling to stop bleeding. He had seen this kind of wound inflicted before, and he knew the man before his eyes didn’t have long. He soon heard Ruby say to the group, “Alright, we can get him to the next village over, and find a doctor there!”

 

“Senka can carry him on his back!” Jaune suggested.

 

Senka let out a questioning squawk at that as he tilted his head.

 

“Think he’ll be okay with it?” Melody asked Cristal.

 

“He might not be at first, but he’ll do it nonetheless.” Cristal said.

 

Senka growled at her, speaking to Cristal. She turned and said, “Well like it or not, you’re gonna have to live with it.”

 

“Don’t even bother. It’s not going to matter in the end.” Roman said, standing up turning to them, “He won’t survive the trip.”

 

“Roman, you can’t just say that!” Ruby said to the former criminal, “You don’t know that for sure!”  

 

“Red, look at him.” Roman said to her sternly, “I’ve seen this kind of thing before. That bleeding won’t stop anytime soon. **_He won’t last_ **.”

 

“No you’re wrong!” Jaune denied, “He’ll make it! I’m sure of it!”

 

“If we can get him to the village fast enough, he’ll have a chance!” Melody said.

 

“Guys, Roman has a point.” Neo said, “Like he said, he won’t last the trip.”  

 

“Maybe they’re right.” Nora said, “I don’t know if he’ll even make it.”

 

“He will.” Jaune said to Nora, “He has to.”

 

“We can increase his chances, if we leave here right away.” Cristal said.

 

“You’re right!” Ruby said to Cristal, “I can run ahead and look for help!”

 

“Red--” Roman said before getting cut off by her. “Don’t say he won’t make it, cause he will!” Ruby said with determination and slight anger towards him.

 

“You guys…” They heard Rosario said getting all of their attention, “ ** _It’s too late_ ** _…_ ”

 

There eyes fell upon the Huntsmen, who showed no signs of movement, yet his eyes were open slightly; they saw that he wasn’t even breathing. “You mean he’s…?” Melody said to Rosario.

 

All she did in reply was nod her head, her expression filled with solemn. Scout reached over the Huntsman’s eyes, placing her fingers on his lids; with a simple gently movement, shut the Huntsman’s eyes, and it looked as though he was sleeping peacefully. Finally she spoke up, “There was too much blood… I couldn’t stop it in time… There was nothing I could do…”

 

Everyone grew silent, not saying a word as they silently mourned for the Huntsmen. Frosty jumped from Melody’s and beside the now lifeless Huntsmen. He sniffed, his hand before sitting; tilting his head back, he had started to howl, as if he was mourning for the Huntsmen as well. Senka on the other hand bowed his head.

 

Finally after what had seemed like hours, Ren spoke up to the group, as he walked past them, “We should go, it’s not safe here.”

 

“Ren…” Nora said, before catching up with him.

 

“We can’t just… Leave him here.” Scout said, “We should at least bury him.”

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Rosario said, “We shouldn’t stay here for too long.”

 

“But… He’s a Huntsman.” Ruby said, “We can’t leave him like this. It wouldn’t be right.”

 

“But the Bandits, or Grimm could come back.” Neo said, “We should really--”

 

“No.” Roman said cutting Neo off, “Red, and Foxy are right. We should bury him. He’s a Huntsman after all, he doesn’t deserve to be left out here to rot.”

 

“Roman…” Neo said, her pink and brown eyes changing to white, as her face was filled with worry.

 

Roman ignored the look on Neo’s face as he turned to the group, “Some of you can look around town to see if you can find any shovels or at the very least things that could be used for digging, while Neo and I look for a spot to bury him. Meet back here once you’re finished.”

 

Ruby, Jaune, and the members from team CRMS looked to one another, all of them equally surprised that Roman was suddenly taking charge of this situation. “Alright.” Cristal said speaking up, “You heard him. Let’s start looking around, but be on your guard, there could still be Grimm left.”

 

With one last glance to each other, they nodded their heads before splitting up in the desolated village, while Roman and Neo stood next to the Huntsman. Neo’s eyes were still white as she looked over to Roman.

 

“Are you okay?” Neo asked, noticing the certain look in his eyes as he looked upon the village once more; his eyes looked saddened when he look towards a man and a woman, hand in hand covered in blood just a few feet from where they were standing.

 

He didn’t reply to her question when he just turned and walked. “Let’s go Neo.” He said walking ahead. Neo had just stayed silent as she walked just behind him.

 

Ruby watched as Roman and Neo headed in the opposite direction, showing a look of worry when she saw the look in his eyes. She remembered the story that Destiny had told her and her friends, to when she lost her mother, to when she lost everything that would’ve lead to a normal life at a young age. She could only imagine the pain that Roman was going through looking around this once lively village. She couldn’t help but feel worry as Neo had did for him.

 

She was worried for everyone really.

 

She turned her attention over to Jaune when she noticed his expression saddened as well.

 

“Jaune? Are you alright?” Ruby asked with concern.

 

Jaune let out a sigh as he replied, “... **_I’m just tired of losing everything_ ** …”

* * *

 - ** _Atlas; Schnee Mansion_ ** -

 

Weiss didn’t know how many times she found herself walking through the enormous halls of her home, always going to her father whenever he needed to talk with her. Everyday of her life, for as long as she remembered, was like living her life as if she was in a doll house. Always being told what to do, always doing what was best for the family name. But was it really?

 

Since she had come back, she didn’t know what to think anymore. All Weiss thought about what happened months prior. She had forgotten what it was like to be back home again, since she had mostly kept isolated. Though being here back at home, just brought back, memories of her just having most of her childhood life like a dollhouse. She just hoped that her sisters, the twins didn’t have to go through it while she was away.

 

As Weiss approached her father’s office, she was greeted at the sound of a familiar voice just in front of her.

 

“Good afternoon sister.” The voice said.

 

Weiss picked up her head, and saw that it was her brother, by the name of Whitley. He was tall and slender, having short white hair and light blue eyes like hers. He wore a white short sleeved collared shirt with a black tie and a vest, wearing a pair of dark blue pants with a pair of black shoes.

 

“A pleasure to see you out of your room for a change.” Whitely said to her.

 

“Hello Whitely.” Weiss said, as she walked around him before turning to him, “You’re in a cheery mood today.”

 

“Klein made crepes for breakfast.” He said with a smile as he placed his hands behind his back.

 

“What do you want?” Weiss asked him.

 

“I heard Father shouting with someone in his study earlier.” Whitley replied.

 

“Is it Mother?”

 

“No, she’s out drinking in the garden. I think it was a man.”

 

Whitely’s expression changed to a look of concern, “I just wanted to warn you. I had heard he asked to speak with you.”

 

“... I’ll be fine.” Weiss said rubbing her elbow.

 

“I know you will.” Whitely said to his sister, “You’re strong… **_Like Winter_ **. It’s no wonder Van and Nilla look up to you and her.”

 

Weiss gave a confused look to him, finding it strange for him to mention their older sister’s name without cringing. “You never liked Winter.” Weiss pointed out.

 

“True…” Whitely replied, “But you can’t deny her resolve.”

 

“You seem… **_Different_ **.”

 

“And you’ve been gone. I’ll have you know that I didn’t stop growing while you were at Beacon.”

 

Whitley turned and walked down the hall. “Anyway, good luck with Father.” He said. Weiss watched as her brother had gotten further and further away. “... Thank you.” Weiss said, playing with bracelet that was on her wrist.

 

She went over to the door to her Father’s story, though as Whitely had said, she had heard yelling from within the room. Two people arguing from the sound of it.

 

“ _... I’m not talking about the good of my company; I’m talking about the future of Atlas, our entire Kingdom!_ ”

 

“ _That is a load of garbage and you know it._ ”

 

“ _I beg your pardon!?_ ”

 

Weiss opened the door slightly and saw her father, and Ironwood in the room, both of them arguing with one another, she stepped into the room silently, as they continued with their argument.

 

“Jacques!” Ironwood said, “Will you please, just hear me out?”

 

Weiss’s father, by the name of Jacques, slammed his drink on the table roughly as he sat back in his chair. “You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James…” Jacques said, “... But what you’re suggesting is absurd!”

 

“You are blowing it out of proportion.” Ironwood said.

 

Jacques stood up from his seat as he yelled, “ **THE COUNCIL WILL NEVER AGREE TO IT!** ”

 

“You forget…” Ironwood said standing up from his seat as well, “I hold **_two seats_ ** on the council.”

 

“Your Dust embargo has already cost me **_millions_ **! I can promise you, I haven’t forgotten!”

 

“So this **_IS_ ** about you.”

 

Weiss was startled when the door was closed shut quite loudly. When she saw that her father and Ironwood looked over in her direction, she put her hands behind her back, and stood straight. “Miss Schnee!” Ironwood said while bowing his head, “My apologies, I should’ve been gone by now.”

 

“No, no, it’s okay.” Weiss reassured him.

 

Ironwood turned over to Jacques, “We’ll continue this another time.”

 

“Indeed.” Jacques said, “Klein can show you out.”

 

“That won’t be necessary.” Ironwood said, “I know the way. Until next time Jacques.”

 

Ironwood walked over to the door and Weiss moved out of the way so that Ironwood can go through. He turned to her and said, “Please know that you’ll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee. We’ll be back in session before you know it.”

 

With that Ironwood took his leave leaving only her and Jacques the only ones in the study.

 

“Did you forget your manners while you were away?” Jacques asked.

 

Weiss turned to him, “No Father. I’m sorry.”

 

“Can you believe that there are still people in the world that blame Atlas for what happened at Beacon?” Jacques said walking over to his desk, “ **_To Vale?_ ** ”

 

“Well… They weren’t there.” Weiss said following her father.

 

Jacques sat down at the desk and turned in his chair, his back to Weiss. “It’s a wonder he wasn’t stripped of his rank. I suppose the council trusts him, for better or worse.”

 

“ **_... I trust him_ **.” Weiss said to her father.

 

Jacques let out a sigh and turned it to his daughter, “Thanks to him Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other Kingdoms. “ **_A precautionary measure_ ** ” as he puts it, “ **_until we’re certain nobody is going to declare war_ ** ”. How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me. Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks.”

 

Weiss expression perked up at that, mostly surprised that her father had suggested something like that.

 

“We need to show the people of Remnant that we’re on their side.” Jacques explained. “That we’re on their side. That we’re all victims of the fall of Beacon.”

 

“That’s… Wonderful news!” Weiss said with an honest smile.

 

“I know.” Jacques said, “And I think it would make a lot of people happy… If **_you_ ** performed at the event.”

 

Weiss’s expression fell from her face, “Excuse me?”

 

“Many forgot that you were there.” Jacques said, “My own daughter, a Schnee, on the grounds, defending another Kingdom! We need to remind them, and show them that the Schnee family is as strong as ever!”

 

“Are you asking me if I would like to sing… **_Or telling me?_ ** ”

 

“I think it would make a lot of people happy.”

 

Weiss looked into her father’s gaze before letting out a sigh, “I’ll start practicing.”

 

“That’s… My girl.” Jaques said with a smile.

 

With that said, Weiss left the room silently. She opened the door and shut it behind her, that’s when she noticed the twins were just standing outside of the door. They both equally had sad looks on their faces.

 

“Father’s making you sing again, isn’t he?” Van asked.

 

“No, no it’s nothing like that.” Weiss had tried to reassure them, though they saw through her lie.

 

“But it’s true…” Nilla said softly, “... Isn’t it? It’s not fair… Doesn’t father know what you’ve been through? True, we may not know exactly…”

 

Van said, “But he definitely doesn’t.”  

 

Weiss let out a sigh, as she just hugged the two of them, and the twins hugged their sister back.

 

“Hot coffee Miss Schnee?”

 

The three sisters turned and saw that it was Klein holding a tray with three cups; they broke of the hug. “I always find he keeps his study dreadful cold.” Klein said to Weiss with a smile.

 

Weiss took the mug that was in the middle, “Thank you Klein.” Weiss said.

 

Klein nodded, and he held the tray in front of the twins. “Here you are Miss Van, Miss Nilla.” He said with a friendly smile, “Hot chocolate just made the way you both like it.”

 

“Klein thank you.” Van said taking the mug.

 

“Awesome!” Nilla said, getting the mug from the tray.

 

They took a sip from the mug, and Klein noticed the look on Weiss’s face, having been down after having the conversation with her father. Klein knew a a way to cheer her up.

 

“You know what I think?” Klein said, putting his tray in front if his face. When he removed the tray from his face, his eyes had turned from brown to red.

 

“I think it’s just to balance out all his hot air.” He spoke with a gruff accent.

 

The twins giggled and Weiss smiled. “Klein!” Weiss whispered, turning to door making sure their father didn’t hear anything. Weiss started to giggle as did Klein. He than let out a sneeze and his eyes changed to blue.

 

“Uh, apologies ma’am.” Klein spoke with a high pitch voice.

 

He pretended to sneeze again, and the three girls giggled as Klein wiggled his mustache. His eyes changed to yellow, “Ah, there’s my happy little snowflake.”

 

“Do you feel better now Weiss?” Nilla asked her sister.

 

Weiss smiled and nodded to the young girl before looking back up to their butler.

 

“Thank you Klein.” Weiss said with a smile.  

* * *

 

“ ** _Jaune_ ** _…_ ”

 

“ ** _Get up!_ ** ”

 

“ ** _Jaune_ ** _…_ ”

 

“ ** _If you don’t move now they’re going to die! Get up and fight for those that are still standing!_ ** ”

 

“ ** _Jaune!_ ** ”

 

Ruby awoke after yet another dream, this one being different from the rest; she soon found that it was late at night, and everyone was sound asleep. Finding it was still so late, she had decided to go back to sleep until…

 

“ ** _Jaune._ ** ”

 

Ruby sat herself up when she heard Pyrrha’s voice; though she knew it was impossible. When she looked around she saw everyone was asleep in their sleeping bags as usually, though Cristal was sleeping against Senka, who was curled up against her as he hummed softly. Though she found Jaune missing from his sleeping bag and Roman was missing from where they usually slept. She heard Pyrrha call out his name again and she had followed the sound deep within the trees as fireflies flew all around, one just landing on her finger.

 

Than, from behind the tree she saw Jaune, armed with his sword and shield. Not wanting to be seen she took cover just behind a tree nearby.

 

Just in front of Jaune as he swung his sword was his scroll, sitting on a stop. On the scroll it had a recording of a girl with familiar red hair.

 

It was of Pyrrha.

 

“ _Alright Jaune._ ” Pyrrha said in the video, “ _Now just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up._ ”

 

Jaune lifted his shield up as Pyrrha said.

 

“ _Keep your grip tight._ ”

 

He tightened his grip on his sword.

 

“ _Don’t forget to keep your right foot forward._ ”

 

Jaune kept his right foot in place, since he hadn’t forgotten.

 

“ _Ready?.... Go!_ ”

 

Jaune swung his sword, cutting the air as if their was an enemy their.

 

“ _Again!_ ”

 

He moved forward with his opposite foot and swung his sword again.

 

“ _And again._ ”  

 

Jaune took one final swing and the grass in front of him, moved again. After that he took deep breaths, after he had taken three powerful swings.

 

Pyrrha in the video giggled, “ _Alright, now assuming you haven’t cheated, we can take a break._ ”

 

Jaune turned his attention over to the video. “ _I know this can be frustrating…_ ” Pyrrha said, “ _... And it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I’m proud of you. I’ve never met someone so determined to better themselves. You’ve grown so much since we started training. And I know this is just the beginning._ ”

 

Pyrrha looked away from the camera, her face turning slightly red, “ _Jaune, I… I…_ ” Pyrrha had turned back to the camera, with a smile on her face; she placed her hands over her chest “ _I just want you to know that I’m happy to be a part of your life. No matter what happens…_ **_I’ll always be here for you Jaune_ ** _._ ”

 

“ _Pyra! Pyra!_ ” A familiar said coming over the video.

 

A little twelve year old with a familiar color of magenta and her bangs being partly orange with a black eye patch over her right eye came into view; she jumped onto Pyrrha’s back and the teenage girl help but laugh. Jaune cracked a small smile when Destiny came into view.

 

“ _I found you Pyra!_ ” Destiny said, as she kicked her legs behind her.  

 

“ _You certainly did._ ” Pyrrha said with a smile gripping the child’s hands.

 

“ _Everyone’s waiting for you so we can head to the stadium. The singles round start today you know, and you could be picked!_ ” Destiny said to her.

 

“ _Don’t worry I remembered._ ” Pyrrha reassured Destiny, “ _We shouldn’t keep them waiting_.”

 

Destiny nodded before she noticed the camera on the scroll going. “ _Oh, I’m sorry_ .” Destiny said in the video to Pyrrha, “ _Were you recording something? Did I interrupt?_ ”

 

Pyrrha gave a reassuring smile and shook her head, “ _I was recording. But don’t worry, I’m all finished now._ ”

 

“ _What were you recording?_ ” Destiny asked.

 

Pyrrha lifted Destiny up off of her back, and placed her on the ground.

 

“ _That’s a little secret. But since your good with keeping secrets, I’ll tell you about it later._ ” She said to the child.

 

Destiny held out her pinky, “ _Pinky promise?_ ”

 

Pyrrha held out her pinky finger on the opposite hand, and let it intertwine with her’s, “ _Pinky promise._ ”

 

With that, Pyrrha turned her attention over to the camera and pressed the button on the scroll and the video came to an end. Though it wasn’t a second later when the video just rewinded itself, back to the beginning.

 

She repeated the same words as she did before when she had started the recording. Just as Jaune started to do what he did before, a hand reached out and suddenly paused the video. Jaune looked and it had turned out the person was Roman.

 

“You know Arky…” He said, “... If you’re going to just be out here and reminisce, the least you could do is be sensible about it.”

 

“Roman.” Jaune said, “What are you doing up this late?”

 

“Couldn’t sleep, and I thought, what the hell, I might as well take an evening stroll to take my mind off a few things.” Roman said, “May I?”

 

Jaune wondered what he meant, but realized he had meant his scroll. “Oh, go ahead.” Jaune said.

 

Roman took the scroll from the stump and looked at the video. Though he looked at the still image of Pyrrha, fast forwarding all the way to the near end, just when Destiny came into the video. “So… This is Pyrrha Nikos huh?” Roman said, though really he didn’t expect Jaune to answer, “The one many claimed to be an Invincible Girl. I’ve heard about her reputation, and a little from Red. She tells me that Destiny and her were like best friends when you were taking care of her.”

 

Jaune had said to him, “Yeah, well, most of us were busy finishing up the preparations of the Vytal Festival, and she mostly volunteered to look after her while the rest of us helped out.”

 

Roman chuckled slightly, “She even gave her a nickname. Pyra… Funny I didn’t think that trait of mine would rub off on her. Here I thought she take more after her…” His words just trailed off, and Jaune gave a sort of confused look before he put together why.

 

Roman cleared his throat when there was the awkward silence between them. “Though… Just from hearing this from the video, I can tell that she meant a lot to you too.”

 

Jaune said nothing to Roman this time; he just looked away.

 

“You're torn up about what happened to her.” Roman said, “And why wouldn’t you be? From what Red’s told me about her, she’s just… Amazing she would say; but in truth that’s just from her point of view. Your teammates on the other hand told me, you were especially close to her.”

 

“She… Was the first person to ever believe in me when I first started at Beacon.” Jaune said to him, “... Even when I didn’t deserve it she was always there for me. And… I guess, I just can’t seem to let go of it all you know?”

 

Roman slightly chuckled at that, “You know, it’s kind of funny. Everytime you or any of your other friends mention Pyrrha, it makes me think back to my wife. Honestly she reminds me a lot of how Trinity was. I assume my daughter told you about her, when you were looking after her?”

 

Jaune replied, “She was her mom, and from what she told us, she looks up to her and loves her as much as she loves you as a parent. Even though she can’t remember her.”

 

“That’s thanks to the stories I bring up about her every now and again.” He said, “But I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, just a little something between us.”

 

Jaune tilted his in confusion wondering what he meant by that exactly.

 

Roman started to explain, “Back when there was still the trust between the kingdoms, I used to think that people, us human beings in general weren’t trustworthy. They would always tell lies just to save their own skin; or worse they would do it out of their own entertainment just to see the person's reaction. Hell everyday I would tell myself that everyone around me, was the worst. I even found days when I just hated myself for being one of those people, because of the people I grew up with as a kid, where I unfortunately spent most of my childhood. But… My perspective on how I looked at the world changed when I met a certain girl with magenta hair, and eyes that I swear, I thought they were made of amethyst. She, like your friend saw a side in me, that I didn’t even know I had. She pretty much showed me that not all people in the world were liars, were cowards, or were for a lack of better word, monsters. They were people that were like her, people that were decent, honest, and had would never give up, and would always do what she can to help, even to people like me that didn’t deserve it. It’s what made me fall in love with her to begin with.”

 

“Whoa…” Jaune said to Roman stunned to hear all this, “... That’s just… Amazing… I can see why Destiny loves her.”

 

Roman looked over to Jaune before placing the scroll back onto the stump, “... Point I’m trying to make here Arky, is… That people like my wife… People, like Pyrrha are not ones that tend to stay forgotten. Even with Trinity gone… I still love her, as much as I did when she was still around. Not a day goes by when I wished that she was still here with me, to see our little girl grow up one day. We can’t forget people we love, but we can move on from it. Sooner or later, you’ll have to learn to move on from this as well, even if you don’t want to.”

 

Jaune looked to Roman before he looked back to his scroll, with the still image of Pyrrha and Destiny, though really he was looking at Pyrrha in particular. Jaune let out a sigh as he said to Roman, “Thanks, I appreciate it, really.”

 

Roman walked by him, before patting him on the shoulder, “Try not to stay up to late Arky.”

 

Ruby who had watched the whole thing couldn’t but smile, at the conversation that the two of them had, though she couldn’t help but still worry for Jaune as he had gone back to doing what was doing before Roman had interrupted him. She knew he was still torn about what had happened to Pyrrha; she just wish she could find a way to help him.

 

“Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop Red?”

 

Ruby jumped and saw that Roman was standing next to her.

 

“How long have you been listening?” Roman asked her.

 

“A while.” Ruby replied softly not wanting Jaune to hear them.

 

“We had better get back to the campsite to get some rest.” Roman said.

 

“What about Jaune?” She asked.

 

“Don’t worry about him.” Roman reassured her, “He’ll catch up.”

 

Ruby nodded, taking one last glance back over to Jaune, she walked alongside Roman. She let out a slight giggle. “What?” Roman asked with a quizzical expression, “What’s so funny?”

 

“Nothing, it’s just that I didn’t know you were one to give advice.” Ruby said to him with a smile.

 

Roman turned away, from Ruby and she noticed that his face was slightly red from embarrassment; Ruby couldn’t help but giggle a bit more.

 

“You know something… You’ve changed in a good way these last months we’ve been out here.” Ruby said to him, giving him an affectionate nudge with her elbow.

 

“What can I say Red?” Roman said, “Not everyone stays the same.”

* * *

 

- **_Three Years Ago; Vale Main Square Evening_ ** -

 

_All was lively in the main square of Vale. Everyone that had attended were either at the stands or on one of the rides that was provided. Roman wearing a casual dark blue shirt, with gray jean pants with his hair not being curled, and not wearing the usual eye makeup, was walking with the crowd with his daughter piggyback riding, since she felt a bit sleepy._

 

_It was just nearing the end of the day and they were just making their way out of the fair; he held a bag of prizes that they had one from one of the various game stands._

 

_As Destiny rode on his back, she was holding a photograph with recent handwriting that had read “Me and Daddy on Family Fun Day”_

 

_“Did you have fun today?” Roman asked her as he continued to walk through the crowd._

 

_Destiny nodded her head sleepily, “I had a lot of fun today… Thank you…”_

 

_“Anything for you Princess.” Roman said._

 

_Destiny nuzzled her face in the back of his neck as she held onto the picture._

 

_“I wish we could have more days like this one…” Destiny said to him._

 

_Roman let out a sigh, “... One day we will, Princess.”_

 

_Destiny rubbed her eyes, as she let out a yawn. “Dad? Can I ask you something?”_

 

_“Of course, what is it?” Roman asked._

 

_“... How come…” Destiny said before yawning again, “... How come, the people you meet with at home, don’t know about me…? Even when it’s nice people, you tell me to stay in my room and play quietly… Why do I have to hide?”_

 

 _Roman honestly didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t tell her the truth about what had happened to her mother, but how could he tell her? He knew one of these days he had to tell her the whole truth about her mom, about where she had gotten_ **_her eye_ ** _. Since she had turned five she was always lead to believe that she was simply born with her strange eye. He didn’t know how to tell her, but he knew one day he would have to tell her one day, but just not now._

 

_“... It’s simple really.” Roman said to her, “... You’re my little secret.”_

 

_“Secret?”_

 

_“... Yeah, secrets are meant to be kept precious and treasure. You’re my treasure Destiny. I’ll always keep you safe.”_

 

_“Promise?”_

 

_“I promise.”_

 

_Destiny let out a smile, as she fell asleep, on his back. Roman patted her head as she made herself comfortable._

 

_“Seems like you two had a good time.”_

 

_Roman’s attention was drawn when he heard a familiar voice. Turned out it was Neo, in black hair and green eyes, holding a bag of groceries and such. “Neo.” He said, “Planning on making food for us again?”_

 

_“Well, you barely have enough in your fridge, that and half of it is expired by now.” Neo replied, “Where would you be without me honestly?” Roman shrugged his shoulders, as he chuckled. Neo placed her hand on Destiny’s head and ruffled her hair a bit; all she did was move her head slightly and Neo couldn’t help but chuckle._

 

_“... She’s a real good kid.” Neo said, “... She’s the spitting image of your wife that’s for sure.”_

 

_“Yeah.” Roman said, “She is. She would’ve loved today; all the games the rides, everything really. I just wish I could do more for my little girl.”_

 

 _Neo looked Roman with a worried look, “You know, you can’t keep_ **_Trinity’s secret_ ** _from her forever. You know as well as I do that one of these days your gonna have to tell her.”_

 

_“... I know I do.” Roman replied, “But how can I tell her? She’s only a child.”_

 

_“We were all children once Roman.” Neo said, “... But we do eventually grow into adults. Sooner or later she has to know the truth.”_

 

 _Roman looked to Neo, before turning his head slightly over to Destiny who was still sound asleep. At the thought of Trinity’s secret, he didn’t know exactly how he would explain to her. Where would he even start? The reason… The_ **_real_ ** _reason to why she ran from home. How would he even explain it to his daughter,_ **_THEIR_ ** _own daughter?_

 

_He let out a sigh before saying to Neo, “... One day I will just not now. I just want her to be a kid a little while longer. I want to make sure that she has a life that neither me, or Trinity never got to have.”_

 

_“I understand that.” Neo said to her, “But… Secrets can’t be stay hidden forever. Don’t forget that.”_

 

_“I won’t.” Roman said._

 

_Neo nodded slightly, as they walked down the block back to the apartments; both of them equally unaware that a certain black and white owl was watching them, eyeing the child on Roman’s back in particular._

 

**_(Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana)_ **


	4. A Cry for Help

**_“It’s dark… I’m scared… Please… Come find me… I need you…_ ** ”

 

Yang didn’t know how things changed so quickly. She used to be this lovable girl who would party with anyone, and would do what she could to help anyone. She used to be a thrill seeker; she wanted nothing more than adventure. 

 

But that all changed, at the fall of Beacon. Nowadays she mostly found herself just sitting in the living room while watching whatever was on the television, or just put on a movie. She even changed her look as well; she didn’t just let her hair down loosely, she just tied it back. She just hadn’t been the same these past eight months. 

 

Here she was, sitting on the couch, while holding a plush toy, while watching a movie, called “My Neighbor Catario” for about the fiftieth time in the row. It was the little ones favorite; Destiny. Everyday she missed her, and not knowing what happened to her, she was beyond worried; she often thought if Destiny was actually dead. 

 

She had honestly hoped not. 

 

She had spent her time watching this movie, though as she did, she couldn’t help but think back to Beacon, when everything was just normal. 

 

All the times that she had made her laugh; made Destiny laugh. She missed her smile, honestly she did. Just as the movie was at the halfway point she heard someone knocking rapidly at the door. The voice that came on the other side was her father, Taiyang. 

 

“Yang!” He yelled from the other-side, “Yang it’s me open the door!” 

 

Yang paused the movie and placed the plush somewhere nearby before going to the door. When she opened it, she that her father was carrying a young teenage boy in his arms; wrapped in makeshift bandages as he was covered in blood. 

 

He had short ruby hair that was in reverse, most of his hair was covering his left eye. He appeared to have scales on the side of his neck that was in the color of gray.  He even had a long tail with the same colored scales.  His right hand in gray scales as well though his nails were sharp like spikes. He wore boots that wore of brown and had orange buckles, and had on dark gray cargo pants with a brown buckle to go with it. He wore a dark green shirt with a green choker around his neck. Around his neck he had on a golden circle necklace that hung loosely. 

 

The scales on his body aren’t normal; is he a fanus? 

 

Yang’s eyes widened when she saw the condition of the young teenager. 

 

“What happened!?” Yang said, as she moved out of the way to let her father inside the house. 

 

“He was attacked by Grimm!” Taiyang explained, “Good thing I was there otherwise he would’ve been killed.” 

 

He went over to the couch and placed the young teen their. “What do we do?” Yang asked him. 

 

“I need you to stay with him, while I go get the doctor.” Taiyang said, “Make sure he doesn’t bleed death.” 

 

“Got it, no problem!” Yang said. With that Taiyang went out of the house and down the dirt pathway that had been provided. As soon as he left, she had heard a groan, coming from the young teen. Yang turned to him and saw that he was opening his eyes, revealing to be golden. 

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Yang said to him. 

 

The teen didn’t answer as he tried to sit up. 

 

“No, don’t get up!” Yang said putting her hand on his shoulder, “You’re injured!” 

 

The teen started to mumble incoherent words; Yang leaned in closer, so that she could make out what he was saying. “What? What are you saying?” 

 

The teen spoke up but was shocked when--

 

“... Ya… Ng… Ya… Ng…” 

 

Yang’s eyes widened slightly when she heard this from the young teen. That didn’t make any sense at all… How could this young teen before her, know her name?

* * *

 

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Somewhere Across the Ocean_ ** \- 

 

The boat had glided across the water, like an aircraft in the clouds. Many of it’s passengers on board were either enjoying the view or just running about on deck.  **_Blake Belladonna_ ** was one of the passengers that had stood among its crowd, looking upon the ocean, just having thoughts about all that has happened. 

 

At one point she looked down at a bracelet that was around her wrist, thinking back to the certain little someone who had given her the  bracelet before she ended up running. She had heard she went missing after the fall of Beacon, and she couldn’t help but worry about her. She had promised herself when she was done with what she wanted to do, first thing, she would find Destiny, wherever she was. 

 

It would probably take a long time for her, to find leads, but, she would try. She would try, no  **_WOULD_ ** find her and--

 

**_“Blake…”_ **

 

Blake was soon startled when she heard the sound of someone familiar. She looked over to her right but saw that there was no one there, only the sound of children playing. Blake shook it off knowing that it couldn’t be possible. Soon enough a young teenage boy at the age of fifteen approached her. 

 

“Hey sis.” 

 

Blake turned and jumped slightly when she saw the fifteen year old, who had the same colored eyes as her. His hair was black and slightly long, and upon his head he had a pair of cat ears like her, but his left ear had been chipped. Around his neck he had a pair of golden bands, with silver around them. He had on a short brown and gray jacket with pockets on the sleeves, and under it was a dark gray jacket. He had on a pair of black short pants with a brown buckle around his waist. His legs had scars, and he had on a pair of brown shoes, with red laces. On his hands he had on a pair of gray fingerless gloves with a brown buckle as well. 

 

“Kobi…” Blake said sighing with relief, “Don’t scare me like that.” 

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” Kobi said before handing her a drink which was a bottle of water, “I thought you might be thirsty, so I got you something to drink.” 

 

Blake took the water bottle from him, “... Thanks.” 

 

She opened the water bottle and took a sip from the bottle of water. Kobi turned his attention towards the ocean, “... You know, I don’t mean to bring you down, but it’s weird just to be with you again.” Kobi said, “Not that I’m saying that I’m grateful that you actually forgave me, and that you let me travel with you, but… It’s just strange ya know?” 

 

“Of course I forgive you Kobi, you’re my little brother.” Black said, “... I’m just glad that you finally came to your senses and left  **_the White Fang_ ** .” 

 

Kobi cracked a smile, “Well, they gave me a reason to leave. After what they did to Beacon what  **_he_ ** did to you… They just went to far ya know? I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when I had the chance. I just wish I could’ve stopped it.” 

 

“It’s alright little brother.” Blake said to him, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder, “It’s like I said to you before, I forgive you. Besides I can never be mad at you.” Kobi let his head rest on Blake’s shoulder as his ears turned droopy; Blake put her arm around both of his shoulders and allowed him to do so. 

 

There was a time when there was distance between her and her little brother Kobi, and that was the time when they were both a part of the White Fang. When they were only children they participated in protests of the White Fang, and when they grew they were apart of criminal activities, mostly involving planned attacks. What had made them distant from each other was when Blake left the White Fang and went to Beacon; her brother ended up staying with them. 

 

At a time Kobi hated her for leaving, but after the fall of Beacon, he had come to realize that she was right. All he wanted was to hurt the people that had called them freaks, but no one had ever said that their would be Grimm, and they would actually kill innocent people, let alone, the man, their mentor by the name of Adam would torture his own sister. Before he had left, he had called him a monster, that he was something even worse than humans and left for good. He had managed to find Blake before she had gotten on the boat, and had a speech prepared to apologize to her; he was even prepared to beg for her forgiveness. 

 

Though he was surprised enough as it is when Blake had pulled him into a hug, and told her that she was thankful that he came back to her. He was surprised really, but was happy to have his sister back. 

 

Now here they were on the same boat, both of them heading in the same direction wanting the same thing. They both enjoyed each other’s company until Kobi spotted the ship's captain; Kobi tensed up and had a fearful look, Blake had tensed up as well, but gave a cold glare.

 

“You two traveling alone?” The Captain asked. 

 

Blake went in front of her younger brother and was prepared to draw her weapon. The Captain lifted his hands and said calmly, “Now, now, no threat here, I just want to chat.” 

 

Blake moved her hand away from her weapon, “And why is that?” 

 

The Captain had replied, going over to the railing, “Well, not many people travel by themselves. It can be quite a lonely voyage even if it’s just two people. But I found those that do… Tend to have interesting stories.” 

 

Blake turned away from the Captain and moved away from her brother, going to the railing as well. 

 

“Sometimes it’s just better for some people to be alone.” Blake said. 

 

“Sis…” Kobi said with worry. 

 

Blake jumped at a sound that had caught her ears, but soon calmed down when she saw two children running, across the deck playing a game of tag. The Captain laughed, “Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn’t hurt.” 

 

“Who says I’m being paranoid!?” Blake said angrily. 

 

“You did, just now.” Her little brother said. 

 

“Kobi!” Blake said as her face turned red. The Captain laughed again, “Well, at least your little brother has a sense of humor. I’ll leave you two be.” 

 

The Captain proceeded off of the deck, but took a moment to turn back to the two siblings, “But uh, fair warning, these trips can get awfully boring.” With that he walked away, leaving the two of them be. Kobi let out a sigh, “Well, that happened.” 

 

Kobi turned to his sister about to say something but than saw her remove her black bow. 

 

“What are you doing?” Kobi asked looking at the ribbon in her hand. 

 

“Where we’re going, I won’t be needing this.” Blake said to her brother. 

 

Blake held the ribbon at arms length and she let the ribbon go, and it flew within the ocean floating above the water, and she watched as it disappeared from the distance. “Come on, let’s head inside for now.” Blake said to her younger brother. Kobi nodded and they proceeded off of the deck, unaware that a hooded figure had watched them both from a distance.

* * *

 

- **_Patch_ ** -

 

A few days had passed since the young teen, had been brought into the home of Tai-Yang and his daughter Yang Xiao Long. Though it had only had come to pass his wounds had been healing at a fast pace, thanks to the aura that had been recovering while he was asleep. The doctor had told them that wounds that had been inflicted weren’t at all serious, and he should make a full recovery by the next few weeks. 

 

Until he was strong enough to walk, he had been staying in their house for the time being. Though it still begged the question  to Yang, how in the hell did he know her name? 

 

Yang once again found herself sitting in the living having the small corgi plush close to her. She looked to the stack of box that was on her right, but instead turned to the remote that was on her left. She picked up the remote and turned on the television, watching whatever was on, most of them being about news. 

 

Soon enough the young teen, by the name of Angel, had stepped into the living room his arms covered in bandages, and traces of bandages around his neck. “Hey.” He said softly getting her attention. 

 

Yang turned slightly to him, giving him a gaze as if she was dead, “Is it alright if I sit with you?” 

 

Yang’s eyes turned back to the television, but she had moved over on the couch, making space for him. Angel had taken that as a yes, and proceeded to take a seat, just a few inches apart from Yang. For a few moments there was silence between them as Yang flipped through channels every now and than. Angel’s eyes soon fell upon the little corgi plush that had sat in her lap. 

 

Angel had decided to make some conversation. 

 

“That’s a really cute plush you have.” Angel said; Yang turned slightly towards the young teen, “Did you buy it from somewhere?” 

 

Yang didn’t say anything but shook her head in reply to his question. “Oh, so it’s a gift than?” Angel asked, though he didn’t expect her to answer, “Was it from your dad? Or your sister maybe?” 

 

“... It’s from a friend.” Yang answered with slight hesitation, “... It was her way of cheering me up when I was upset about something. I would’ve thanked her for it but… She went missing before I could…” 

 

“Ah… I see, that’s a shame.” Angel said nodding his head slightly, “... I hope she’s alright.” 

 

“... Me too.” Yang said. 

 

Yang stopped at a certain channel with the news reporter Lisa Lavender. Angel noticed that her eyes had focused on the topic that she was talking about. 

 

“ _... Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attacks at the Vytal Festival Tournament. While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member Adam Taurus was present at the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force-- _ ”

 

Yang turned off the television after having heard enough of it, and set the remote aside. Angel noticed the look on her face as she sat back in the couch. 

 

“Are you alright?” Angel asked, concern was written on his face. 

 

Yang didn’t answer as she looked to the ceiling; she just stayed silent. For a moment she lift her arm and looked to the little bracelet around it; she sighed as her eyes closed shut. Just than the front door swung open. 

 

“I’m home!” 

 

Yang opened her eyes and saw that it was her father, Taiyang, having various bags and a couple of boxes. “Hi dad.” Yang said in her usual tone. 

 

“Hello Mr. Xiao Long.” Angel greeted, “Welcome back.” 

 

“Angel, you don’t have to be so formal with me.” Taiyang said, “Taiyang or Tai is just fine.” 

 

“Yes of course Mr--I mean Tai.” Angel said; he stood up from his seat and took some of the bags from Taiyang, “Here, let me help you with those.” 

 

“You don’t have to do that.” Taiyang said to him. 

 

“I insist sir.” Angel said with a friendly smile as he made his way to the kitchen with bags in hand, “Besides, I don’t mind it.” 

 

“Well… Thank you.” Taiyang said before turning to his daughter, “Oh, Yang! You’ll never guess what came in today!” 

 

Yang looked puzzled at this, “What?” 

 

“I can’t wait for you to try this.” Taiyang said with a smile before placing the boxes in the kitchen. A few moments later, he brought back the second box he was holding. He placed it on the coffee table just in front of Yang and pushed it over to her; the box was white and had the symbol for Atlas on it. 

 

“It’s… For me?” Yang asked, looking up at her father. 

 

“For you and you only.” Taiyang said with a smile. 

 

Yang looked at the box; placing her plush corgi to the side, she reached for the box and opened it. Inside the box it was revealed to be robotic right arm. Her eyes had widened slightly though the expression on her face read different; she looked more distressed than pleased about this. 

 

Angel had come back into the room and looked what was inside the box. 

 

“That’s a model I’ve never seen before.” Angel said. 

 

“It’s amazing isn’t it?” Taiyang said, “It’s brand new state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors, but you earned this all on your own Yang.” 

 

Yang looked up to her father with a confused expression still written on her face. Taiyang explained, “Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself.” 

 

Yang sat back in the couch; Angel looked even more worried when he saw the expression written on her face. 

 

“Well?” Taiyang said, “Aren’t you gonna try it on?” 

 

“I uh…” Yang started to say, “I’m not feeling great at the moment. Maybe later?” 

 

Taiyang’s expression deflated, and he ran his hand through his hair before replying, “Well alright.” 

 

Yang stood up from the couch, taking the small corgi plush with her. She went up the stairs but stopped halfway, and turned slightly to Taiyang, “... Thanks dad.” She went up the staircase and had gone into her room, leaving only Taiyang and Angel in the living room.

* * *

Blake soon found herself up on the deck once more with her little brother, looking upon the ocean; both of them couldn’t help but admire the sunset upon the horizon. Both of them thought about their destination. Both of them were actually heading back home, back to their parents. They weren’t sure how long it’s been since they’ve last seen their parents. It was going to be a bit awkward that’s for sure. 

 

“What do you think they’re going to say Blake?” Kobi asked. 

 

“Huh?” Blake said not quite hearing his question, “Who are you referring to?” 

 

“You know who sis.” Kobi said, “ **_Our parents._ ** We haven’t seen them for so long, what do you think they’re going to say?” 

 

“... We won’t know until we get there.” Blake replied to her brother, “There’s no reason for you to be nervous, after all, it is our parents.” 

 

Kobi chuckled slightly at that, “That’s easy for you to say. It’s not like I want to see them, I mean don’t get me wrong, I really do, but you know how our folks can be, especially when we’re around them.” 

 

“Yeah…” Blake said, resting her head against her arms, “It’s going to be like we never left.” 

 

Kobi was about to say something but his ear on top of his head twitched as well as Blakes. They both turned around fast and saw a cloaked man standing at the top deck; Blake pulled out her weapon. “ **WHO’S THERE!?** ” She yelled. 

 

Seeing as how he was spotted, the cloak man left in a hurry; right before either her or her brother could go after him, the boat suddenly shook when enormous waves suddenly appeared. Both Blake and Kobi managed to stay on their feet as the boat shook. When it stopped, a giant creature arose from the waters; both siblings eyes widened in horror at the sight of the enormous creature. 

 

“ **RED ALERT!** ” A crew member had yelled. 

 

The alarms on the boat started to go off as the passengers ran below deck. The Captain and the crew members ran out and got a look at the creature; it’s shadow had towered over them. 

 

“By the Gods…” The Captain said. 

 

It was revealed to be a long necked creature; a type of sea dragon Grimm. It’s eyes glowed yellow and it’s body growed a red line pattern along its neck and scales; It let out a tremendous roar as it spread its forearms.

 

“ **ALL HANDS TO BATTLE-STATIONS!** ” The Captain yelled to his crew.

 

“But sir, we’ve never fought a Grimm this big!” One of his crew members said. 

 

“We’ve never seen something this big!” The Captain said, “But we’ll give er a fight nonetheless!” 

 

On the deck Blake and Kobi looked toward the enormous Grimm before them. “That thing is really a Grimm?” Kobi said stunned at the creature before them.

 

“Kobi! Get below deck!” Blake said to him, “I’ll handle this!” 

 

Blake ran to the edge of the ship arming her Gambol Shroud as Kobi yelled for her. She ran off the boat and jumped high into the air. Activating her semblance she used her clone to gain momentum and with her weapon in hand she switched it to kusarigama form, she threw it towards the creature, letting the blade attach to its neck. She swung above the creature's neck and started to fire at it. The dragon let out a roar as Blake landed on the crow's nest, as the Captain steered the ship. 

 

The Dragon began to move throw the water with a quick pace as the Captain kept the boat stable while it went through the water. As the dragon dived canons emerged from the side of the ship, preparing to open fire. Blake jumped from the crow's nest and armed her sword and jumped towards its face, but as she attacked it didn’t leave so much as a scratch. The canons started to fire but it proved to be useless as they had kept missing. Blake ended up flying back due to the blast from the canons and landed on her back. 

 

“ **SIS!** ” Kobi exclaimed running over to her, when he saw that she was having trouble getting back up. 

 

“Kobi!” Blake said, “I thought I told you to get below deck!” 

 

“No way! I’m not leaving you alone up here!” Kobi said, “It’s not happening!!” 

 

They soon heard the Captain yell, “Hold steady men! It’s not done with us yet!  **GET THE HEAVY CANNONS LOADED!** ” 

 

From on the deck they saw a canon come out, and aimed right at the dragon; However, as it let out a roar, wings had extended from its back and it took the skies. As it flew to the boat, Blake saw that in a certain blinking pattern it’s eyes changed from a glow of yellow to… **_A green color?_ **

 

This left Blake and Kobi confused at this especially at the fact that the dragon just ended up staring at them; Particularly  **_Blake_ ** . 

 

“Sis… Why is it looking at you?” Kobi asked Blake. 

 

“I…” Blake replied hesitantly, “... I don’t know.” 

 

“ **HEAVY CANNONS! OPEN FIRE!** ” They heard the Captain yell.

 

The canons hit the dragon; it’s eyes had changed back to yellow and it let out a roar. The canon fired again, but the dragon evaded it and took to the skies once more; this time it’s mouth opened wide and an electrical ball had formed. 

 

“Oh crap!” Kobi exclaimed, “If that hits the ship, we’re dead!” 

 

Right before Blake could jump in the air, the cloaked man from before jumped right on top of black and took to the skies. “ **HEY!** ” Blake yelled angrily to the man. 

 

“ **WHAT THE HELL!?** ” Kobi yelled seeing as how the man from before jumped on top of his sister. 

 

He threw away his cloak and there was a familiar person high in the sky, as he activated his semblance; energy clones appeared and flew towards the dragon. Blake’s eyes widened when she recognized the person. 

 

“ **_SUN!?_ ** ” She yelled with disbelief. 

 

“ **WHO!?** ” Kobi exclaimed. 

 

Sun and his clones landed on the top of the dragon's head; the clones grabbed onto the topmost tendrils, while Sun grabbed it’s upper lip. 

 

“ **SORRY PAL! NOT TODAY!** ” Sun yelled. 

 

The dragon released the electrical ball and it fired in the air, ultimately hitting nothing. 

 

“Sis! You know that guy!?” Kobi exclaimed. 

 

Blake ignored his question as she yelled to the teen who was currently riding on the dragon, “ **WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?** ” 

 

“ **OH YOU KNOW!** ” Sun yelled as he struggled to hang onto the dragon while it tried to shake him off, “ **JUST HANGING AROUND!** ” 

 

The dragon than sent an electrical charge throughout its entire body shocking Sun and he ended up falling off of it’s back. 

 

“ **HE’S FALLING!** ” Kobi yelled with panic. 

 

“ **I SEE THAT!** ” Blake yelled as she was quick to spring into action. 

 

“ **SIS WAIT!** ” Kobi yelled running after her. 

 

Both Blake and Kobi jumped up off of the boat, flying high into the air. Switching her weapon to kusarigama form she let the blade latch onto the rock formation nearby, and swung herself across, while Kobi grabbed onto her ankle. Blake was able to catch Sun in mid-air and held him in her arms bridal style, while Kobi landed on his feet beside them. 

 

“My hero!” Sun said over-dramatically while putting his hands over his heart. 

 

“ **YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!** ” Blake yelled at Sun. 

 

“Yeah? Well it looks like you can use all the help you can get!” Sun said. 

 

“I don’t know who the hell Monkey Boy is or how you know him, but he’s right!” Kobi said, “You need help taking this thing down! You don’t have to beat this yourself!!” 

 

“Yeah what he said! Let’s help each other out!” Sun said with a smile. 

 

Blake sighed and dropped Sun to the floor; he grunted as his back hit the rock floor. “Just shut up and fight!” Blake said, still angry with him. 

 

“Sir, yes ma’am!” Sun said while saluting. 

 

Blake turned to her brother, “Do you have your weapons?” 

 

“Are you kidding?” Kobi said, before pulling a pair of steampunk sawed off shotguns from holsters that was around his waist, “I don’t leave home without them.” 

 

“Let’s go, stay close to me!” Blake said, to her brother specifically. 

 

Blake, Sun and Kobi ran along the rocky plains towards the ship, where the dragon was firing surges of electricity at the ship. All three of them jumped onto the deck, prepared to counter it’s attack as it fires another surge of electricity towards the ship. Sun ended up jumping between the two of them and used his weapons, Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang to deflect it; the electricity landed on one of the heavy canyons that was on the deck. 

 

“And there goes one of the powerful weapons that was on the ship.” Kobi said. 

 

“Nobody’s perfect.” Sun said with a shrug. 

 

“Huntsmen!” The Captain yelled from the upper deck, “If you can clip it’s wings and draw it out towards the bow, we could take it!” 

 

“You got it!” Kobi giving the thumbs up. 

 

Blake turned away from the Captain and looked over to Sun. “I mean, you’re the one with the swords.” 

 

Blake rolled her eyes, and turned to her younger brother, “Let’s go.” Blake said. 

 

Kobi nodded, and they started to move. Sun jumped high into the air and made clones of himself, while Blake and Kobi used Sun’s clones to jump high into the air. The clones along the way helped both of the siblings fly high into the air. Though Sun his arms opened to Blake specifically, Blake and Kobi landed on his back, and leapt off of him, now diving towards the dragon. 

 

It fired electrical blasts at them, but the siblings were quick enough to dodge as they fell towards it. Blake armed her sword while Kobi allowed his sawed off shotguns to switch into tomahawks; they ran along its left wing and sliced through the membrane of the wing before they jumped off; the dragon cried out in agony. 

 

While Kobi landed on a tower of a rock formation, Sun had gotten below to where Blake was going to land. He opened his arms wide and Blake landed in his arms; Now he was holding her bridal style. Blake couldn’t help but smile at Sun but her expression soon fell from her face when he said, “This is the part where you say it.” 

 

Blake groaned and Kobi yelled from where he stood, “ **WATCH IT! THAT’S MY SISTER YOU’RE TRYING TO FLIRT WITH!!** ” 

 

“You never told me you had a brother.” Sun said. 

 

Before Blake could say anything they all stumbled when the dragon moved around them, breaking apart the rock formations. Blake scrambled out of Sun’s arms, and started to go after the dragon while Kobi followed closely behind her. 

 

“ **OKAY, YOU CAN FILL ME IN LATER!** ” Sun yelled going after them. 

 

As Blake and Kobi jumped from one rock formation to the next, Kobi had once again armed his sawed off shotguns and started to fire at the dragon; each bullet was laced with the element of ice. Everytime the bullet would hit, it’s legs and forearms freezes on contact. Despite this however the dragon was able to break out of it easily and with a whip of it’s tail Kobi was hit right in the face; thankfully his aura protected him but he ended up flying anyway. 

 

“ **KOBI!** ” Blake exclaimed. 

 

With the help of her Gambol Shroud’s ribbon, she swung towards her brother, managing to catch him before he could fall head first into the water. “Don’t worry sis, I’m okay!” Kobi said with a groan. 

 

Sun landed just above them on the rock formation, “Oh good you caught him!” He said with relief. 

 

Though the moment didn’t last when they saw the dragon right in front of them; with all three of them equally helpless it began to charge up an attack to finish them off. It was than stopped when the boat, had rammed into the dragon’s side causing it to roar with agony. 

 

“ **CHARGE UP THE CANONS!** ” They heard the Captain yelled, “ **LET’S FINISH THIS BEAST OFF!** ” 

 

The Grimm Sea Dragon turned back to them, and the three of them couldn’t help but give a somewhat fearful look, as it could still attack at any moment but--

 

“ **_Blake…_ ** ” 

 

Blake flinched when she heard her name being called out by the sound of a familiar voice, like earlier that afternoon. Blake looked closely at the dragon as it turned it’s head to them. When it did, Blake lightly gasped when she saw that it’s eyes were glowing green, like before. 

 

But what was even more shocking…  **_Was it was speaking_ ** . 

 

“ **_Blake…_ ** ” The Grimm Dragon seemed to say, it’s voice strangely belonged to  **_a little girl_ ** . 

 

“It’s… Talking?” Kobi said befuddled while hanging onto Blake, “But that’s impossible…” 

 

“Wait a minute…” Sun said, “I’ve heard that voice…” 

 

Blake’s eyes widened slightly knowing all to well who that voice belonged to, “It… Can’t be…” 

 

The Dragon spoke again, “ **_... Blake… Please… I’m scared…”_ **

 

“I--Don’t understand.” Blake said to the Dragon.

 

Once more the Dragon spoke, “ **_... It’s dark… I don’t know where she’s keeping me… I’m afraid… Find me please… I need you…_ ** ” 

 

“ **HEAVY CANON OPEN FIRE!** ” They heard the Captain yell. 

 

“ **WAIT STOP!** ” Blake yelled. 

 

It was too late; the Heavy Cannon fired, completely obliterating its upper half, leaving the dragon to be no more. The crew cheered as its body disappeared into vapor. The three teens were still confused by what had just happened; a Grimm had actually talked to them! Like for real! But… It couldn’t be, it was impossible. 

 

“It… Knew your name.” Kobi said to Blake, “It knew your name, but how…?” 

 

Sun said scratching his head, “That wasn’t who I think it is… right?” 

 

Blake had said nothing, she was just left speechless by what they had just happened. Blake looked down at the bracelet that was around her wrist, trying to put together what had just happened.

* * *

 

- **_Later that Night_ ** -

 

After everything had settled down, and the Grimm disappeared completely, the boat was back on it’s course. Blake, Kobi and Sun were above deck, all three of them were just taking a breather after what they had just gone through. 

 

While Blake filled Kobi in on who Sun was, Sun himself was busy talking to a Fanus couple, as they were thanking them for what they had did. 

 

“Seriously it’s no big deal.” He said to the couple, “Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool!”

 

Sun waved the couple goodbye as they proceeded off of the deck; He went over to Blake and her younger brother. “You’d think they’ve never seen a fight before.” Sun said to Kobi, nudging him a little. 

 

“Uh yeah… Right.” Kobi said awkwardly. 

 

“What are you doing here Sun?” Blake said to him angrily.

 

“Diggin’ the new outfit!” Sun said ignoring her question, “I never did like the bow!” 

 

“ **SUN!** ” Blake yelled at that point annoyed by him, “ **HAVE YOU BEEN FOLLOWING MY BROTHER AND I!?** ” 

 

“She asked you a question man.” Kobi said just as annoyed as Blake was, “The least you could do is answer it.” 

 

Sun let out a sigh and replied to Blake, “... I saw you run off.  **_The night Beacon Tower fell_ ** . Once we landed in Vale you made sure that everyone was okay. And then you just took off, without saying anything. When I saw him, your little brother meet up with you at the docks, well… Let’s just say I had to come.” 

 

Kobi saw the look on his sister's face, and couldn’t help but worry. Blake turned her attention to the ocean, “You wouldn’t understand why I had to leave…” She said, as Kobi gave her a comforting pat on her shoulder. 

 

“No I get it!” Sun said, “The moment you left, I know exactly what you were going to do!”

 

“Really?” Kobi said with a quizzical expression, while Blake had a pleased look on her face, although--

 

“You’re going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!” Sun said. 

 

Blake and Kobi’s jaws dropped at this. “ **WHAT!?** ” They both said, with Blake especially crossed. 

 

Sun said to Blake, “You always feel that the White Fang was your fight. They show up, trash **_YOUR_ ** school, hurt  **_YOUR_ ** friends. It makes perfect sense!” 

 

“You think that’s why she’s on--” Kobi said before turning to Blake, “Can you believe Monkey Boy here sis?” 

 

“Yeah, I can’t.” Blake said, putting her hand on the side of her head. 

 

“Though granted you have your little brother, Cody here to help you out, but there’s no way I’m gonna let you guys do this alone!” Sun said putting his arms around both of their shoulders, “You gotta have someone to watch your guys back, us Fanus have got to stick together after all!” 

 

Blake and Kobi shook themselves out of Sun’s grip much to his confusion. “First of all Monkey Boy, the name is Kobi, Kobi Belladonna.” Kobi said, “Second, what you said just now is all wrong about why we are on this boat. Why  **_MY_ ** sister is on this very boat.” 

 

“What are you talking ab--” Sun said before getting cut off by Blake. 

 

“Kobi and I aren’t going anywhere near the White Fang.” She said, “ **_... Not yet_ ** .” 

 

“Wait, seriously?” Sun said. 

 

“Well, yeah.” Kobi said, “What you’d think we’re crazy enough to take on the White Fang by ourselves? Especially since we both managed to piss them off?” 

 

“You were a part of the White Fang too?” Sun asked Kobi. 

 

“I was. I stayed with them till after Beacon fell, when I saw their true colors.” Kobi said, “Let’s just say it gave me the wake-up call I needed.” 

 

“What did you do to piss them off?” Sun asked. 

 

“Simple.” Kobi said, “I left.” 

 

Sun understood and nodded to him, before turning his attention back to Blake, “But… If you guys aren’t going to the White Fang, why not sort things out with your team?” 

 

“You’re one to talk!” Blake said to Sun, “Assuming that Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren’t hiding below deck!” 

 

Sun scoffed at that, “You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral, I told them I would catch-up! Besides it’s not the first time that I left them to take a boat!” 

 

“You mean you’ve taken boats before?” Kobi asked. 

 

“Like I said, not my first time.” Sun said to Kobi before asking, “So… Where are you guys going anyway?” 

 

“ **_Home._ ** ” Blake replied, “To Menagerie.”  

 

“We just need to sort some things out that’s all.” Kobi said. 

 

Sun nodded in understanding before saying, “Welp, I’m coming with you guys!” 

 

This had left both Blake and Kobi perplexed. They looked at each other with confusion before looking back at him. “Why?” Blake asked. 

 

“Hey you saw how the Grimm are.” Sun said, “Ever since that girl Destiny went missing they’ve been getting worse out here. And just because you and your brother aren’t going after the White Fang, doesn’t mean that they’ll be coming after the both of you.” 

 

“Huh…” Kobi said, scratching his ear above his head, “When you put it like that you make a pretty good point.” 

 

“Exactly.” Sun said, “That and I’m already on the boat.” 

 

“There’s really no stopping you?” Blake said. 

 

“Nope!” Sun said with a smile making the peace sign to Yang, “This is going to be great! I’ve never been to Menagerie before! It’ll be a regular journey to the east! Yeah, I like the sound of that.” 

 

“Oh great, we’re gonna have to deal with this the whole boat ride over.” Kobi said, his cat ears down slightly, “Here I thought it was gonna be a nice quiet the whole trip.” 

 

Sun patted Kobi on the head as he said, “We’re gonna have plenty time to get to know each other!” 

 

“No touchy the ears!” Kobi said with a hiss smacking his hand away.

 

Sun couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, while Blake cracked a small smile.

 

Sun soon stopped laughing as he said to Blake, “Though speaking of… That Grimm from before. I mean I was surprised when it talked but it knew your name too. That and it sounded, strangely familiar…” 

 

“But Grimm can’t talk!” Kobi pointed out, “It’s considered impossible!”

 

“But you saw it yourself, that Grimm spoke.” Sun said to Kobi, “Wonder what it meant by what it said… Blake what did you make of it?” 

 

Blake thought back to what had happened. Kobi was right about one thing, Grimm couldn’t speak, it was just something that didn’t happen everyday. Hell she wasn’t even sure they could understand words. She took it all back, Grimm could understand words, but only with certain people. One of these people being Destiny herself. She could understand Grimm, thanks to her eye, and they even talked back to her, as if they were people.

 

She knew she heard her. She heard  **_HER_ ** voice in that dragon. Though her message seemed unclear, she knew she heard her, that same little girl who wanted to go back to her father. She knew it was impossible, but she heard it nonetheless. 

 

She turned to Sun as she replied, “I know what I heard… And what I heard was  **_her_ ** …”

* * *

 

- **_That Night in Patch_ ** -

 

They had usually spent quiet nights like this. Even when Angel wasn’t around it was always quiet. No conversation, no anything, just silence until they finished what was on their plates. Yang had gathered up the plates and went into the kitchen clean up the dishes, while Taiyang and Angel cleared out the table.  

 

“I don’t know how to thank you for letting me stay here.” Angel said, “Really it means a lot.” 

 

“Ah it’s no problem.” Taiyang said to him, “I couldn’t exactly send you on your way after the doctor treated your wounds. It is nice to have the company since Ruby left, it’s just been too quiet around here.” 

 

“Forgive me for asking but, do you have any idea on where she is now?” 

 

“Well, from her letter she said she was going to Mistral, and that’s all I know really. Though I know that she’ll be back.” 

 

“Yang… Seems down. Is she alright?” 

 

“She hasn’t been herself since she came back from Beacon. They’re a lot of things that are bothering her, but… She won’t tell me what happened exactly. I don’t know, but it seems like she’s, afraid of something.” 

 

Angel looked to the kitchen where Yang was, and couldn’t help but think. She was afraid of something… But what? He knew he couldn’t just force the answer out of her, he would let it come in due time, for now…  **_He needed to deliver a message._ **

 

“I’ll go see if Yang needs help in the kitchen.” Angel said to Taiyang. 

 

Taiyang nodded in understanding, and Angel proceeded to the kitchen. 

 

Yang was almost done washing all the dishes; getting the last of the gunk that was on the plates and glass. Just as she grabbed the last dish, there was a sudden flash. 

 

“ **_I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love…_ ** _ ”  _

 

_ “ _ **_BLAKE! BLAKE WHERE ARE YOU?!_ ** _ ”  _

 

_ “ _ **_Starting with her..._ ** _ ” _

 

_ “ _ **_GET AWAY FROM HER!_ ** _ ”  _

 

_ “ _ **_No… Please…_ ** _ ”  _

 

_ “ _ **_NNNNNOOOOOOWWWWW!!!_ ** _ ” _

 

With a gasp, Yang dropped the glass and it shattered on the floor; she backed up into the counter as she fearfully took deep breaths, by the sudden flash in her head. With a clenched fist, she slammed it just on top of the countertop. No matter what she tried, she just couldn’t get the image of Adam Taurus out of her head. The image was just stuck as if a computer had froze up. She had tried to erase it from her head, though, it proved to be useless; She even found nights where she just couldn’t sleep. She was running out of options on what she should try exactly to just, forget what had happened. 

 

“Yang?” She heard someone say. 

 

She looked up and saw that it was Angel, who had just entered the kitchen. 

 

“Angel…” She said, before noticing the broken cup, on the floor, “Crap, I’ll clean it up.” 

 

“No, let me handle it.” Angel said. 

 

Angel walked over to the broken glass and picked up the pieces. Yang let out a sigh and grabbed a dustpan nearby; she than kneeled and helped Angel out on picking up the broken pieces, placing them onto the dustpan beside her.

 

“It seems like you have a lot on your mind.” Angel said. 

 

“What makes you say that?” Yang asked him, not making eye contact. 

 

“Call it a hunch.” Angel replied, “You know, if something is bothering you it’s okay to talk about it. Whenever your ready of course, I won’t force this kind of thing on you. Just know I’ll be happy to lend an ear whenever you feel like talking about it.” 

 

“No offense, but why would you?” Yang asked, “We’re not exactly friends.” 

 

“Your father saved my life.” Angel answered, “And helping you with whatever is bothering you is my way of returning the favor, all you have to do is ask.” 

Yang and Angel managed to finish up the remaining pieces of broken glass on the floor. Yang carried them over to the trash bin and threw away the broken pieces, before placing the dustpan back where it was. “I actually have a question for you.” Yang said to him. 

 

“Okay…” Angel said standing up, “What is it?” 

 

“When my dad bought you in… You said my name…” Yang said, “You and I just met that day, and yet you somehow knew my name? Tell me how you know. Who told you about me?” Angel let out a sigh; this is it, this was the time to tell her the message, whether she believed it or not, hell he didn’t know if she would even believe him.

 

“If I tell you, promise you won’t freak out.” Angel said. 

 

“I won’t.” Yang said, “Just tell me.” 

 

Angel nodded, “The reason why I know your name… It’s because  **_a Grimm told me, before it attacked me_ ** .” 

 

Yang’s eyes widened in disbelief at that, “... What?” 

 

Angel than asked the teen, “Does… The name  **_Destiny Torchwick_ ** ring a bell?” 

 

( **_Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana_ ** )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Credit for the OC Angel goes to angelplaza2001 of Fanfiction.net


	5. Trinity

- **_Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_ Only a few days had passed since the truce between team RNJR and team CRMS, and already they were starting to get to know one another. Most of there travels they had just talked to one another; Melody and Ruby mostly caught up after two years of being apart, and Rosario and Scout from time to time mostly let them know a little bit about themselves. Cristal on the other hand mostly kept silent, and whenever, Ruby or any of her friends tried to ask about her they simply said, they couldn’t say. Ruby couldn’t help as to wonder why exactly Cristal was being the strong silent type, but she felt the need not to push it, but only to wait till when she wanted to tell them.  _

 

_ Like with a certain someone she knew. _

 

_ Today on their travels however, she noticed one of her new friends acting differently; this one being particularly Roman. Earlier that morning and afternoon, she noticed that he had a certain look on his face, as he trailed behind with Cristal from the group. He just seemed to have avoided all conversation with everyone, even Neo who had kept a respectful distance from him. Soon enough the group stopped to take a break near a river bank after walking for hours on end to get to the next town over.  _

 

_ They put together a small picnic to eat what they had gotten for lunch.  _

 

_ “So Scout, you really stayed with your teacher since you were little?” Ruby asked as she took a bit from her sandwich.  _

 

_ “Yup.” Scout replied, “But it’s not as bad as you would think. He’s a rogue Huntsmen, but the good kind of rogue. He maybe rough around the edges but he’s a real sweet guy, who won’t admit that he’s a hugger. He taught me everything I know about combat and my skills in medicine and medical expertise.”  _

 

_ “But… Didn’t you have any parents?” Jaune asked her.  _

 

_ “Oh I do.” Scout said, “But… My parents are unfortunately a part of a bandit tribe. Teacher, was one of the people defending the one of the towns that they tried to invade and he managed to drive them away before they could attract any Grimm. In the scuffle I ended up getting left behind. Teacher took me in, and as you can tell, he put my abilities to good use.”  _

 

_ “Damn straight!” Nora said with a smile.  _

 

_ “What about you Rosario?” Ren asked, “What made you a bounty hunter exactly?”  _

 

_ “Let me put it this way.” Rosario said taking a sip from her drink, “I put my trust in the wrong people, and like Scout, I decided to put my abilities to good use and to get a hella lot of cash. I figured bounty hunting was the best way to do it, since, I’m not rolling in money.”  _

 

_ “Ooo, that is super interesting!” Nora said again with a big smile.  _

 

_ “And you Melody?” Neo asked, “What were you doing all the way out here before you joined up with team CRMS?”  _

 

_ Melody looked to Ruby, before turning back to her, “I’m keeping a promise to myself and my family, one that I don’t intend to break anytime soon, and I don’t think a certain someone would like me talking about it so I’ll leave it at that.” _

 

_ “And you guys didn’t even attend one of the four academy’s to learn how to fight?” Jaune said.  _

 

_ “Nope.” Cristal, Rosario, Melody and Scout said at the same time.  _

 

_ “We were either taught, or just learned it ourselves.” Cristal said.  _

 

_ “Though technically I did go to school before I left home, and that was the academy Signal.” Melody said, “The rest of my fighting style, with a scythe anyway, I learned from my old man.”  _

 

_ “Uncle Qrow rules!” Ruby said with her fist raised in the air; Melody couldn’t help but chuckle at her younger cousins enthusiasm.  _

 

_ “Seriously where do you get your energy from?” Neo asked.  _

 

_ “One word.” Melody said, “Coffee, and lot’s of it.”  _

 

_ Everyone had soon finished up their lunch after they had chatted some more. “Hope you all got room, because I packed us some pancakes!” Nora said, pulling out a fresh batch of pancakes out of her bag. Of course everyone was surprised that she had something like that.  _

 

_ “How… does that even work?” Rosario asked, just stunned at this.  _

 

_ “As said before, you get used to it.” Ren said.  _

 

_ “Might as well have some, I could go for some desert.” Scout said, “That and it’s been a long time since I had a pancake.”  _

 

_ “Than you’re gonna love this batch! Ren’s pancakes are delicious! Especially with syrup!” Nora said.  _

 

_ As she handed the pancakes out to everyone, Ruby turned over to Roman who was currently sitting at the river bank, taking a puff from his cigar every now and again, Frosty sat beside him as a way to comfort him. She noticed that he still had that pained expression on his face.  _

 

_ “Something wrong Ruby?” She heard Cristal ask.  _

 

_ “Yeah, it’s Roman…” Ruby said, “He doesn’t look like himself. He just seems… Down.”  _

 

_ “Really?” Jaune said before looking over to Roman, “Huh… I didn’t actually notice. He does look upset about something.”  _

 

_ “Wonder why he has the long face.” Rosario said.  _

 

_ “I wouldn’t blame him if he was thinking about his daughter again.” Scout said, “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be apart from his child for so long.”  _

 

_ “I… Think there might be more to it than that.” Ren said as he looked over in Roman’s direction. Neo looked over to Roman, “Yeah… More to it…”  _

 

_ It was than Cristal’s eyes widened in realization when a thought had come to her, “Wait, what day is it today?”  _

 

_ “Umm…” Ruby said before looking at her scroll for the day, “April 13th. Why?”  _

 

_ Cristal had a saddened look on her face, as did Neo; she brushed her bangs with her hand. _

 

_ “Oh…” Neo said solemnly, “That’s right, how can I forget?”  _

 

_ “What is it?” Jaune asked.  _

 

_ “Is there something special about that date?” Nora asked.  _

 

_ “You could say…” Cristal said with a solemn look.  _

 

_ Neo let out a sigh, looking over to Roman; her eyes had changed to a white color,“April 13th...  _ **_Was Trinity’s birthday._ ** _ ” _

* * *

 

- **_Present; Somewhere in Remnant_ ** -

 

Within the meeting room of the large castle, Salem and Cinder sat at the table of the meeting room, while Emerald and Mercury stood close by incase Cinder needed them. She appeared to be in pain, as she groaned with agony; Salem’s hand was casually out to her. 

 

She told Cinder, “You can feel it, can’t you? Don’t fight it, girl. It can feel your trepidation.  **_You must make it dread you_ ** .” 

 

From outside of the room, their was a strange clicking sound that had echoed through the halls. What had came into the room was a creature of Grimm that gave an odd glow, made Emerald and Mercury’s eyes look at it fearfully, taking a step back from it. 

 

The Grimm was a jellyfish base type; it had long red tentacles and it’s body was black and white. It gave an orange glow in the center of it’s head. The Grimm, known as **_the Seer_ ** floated to Salem’s side, as it clicked. Salem put her hands together and allowed her chin to rest against them. 

 

“Cinder.” Salem said, “I’m going to ask you one more time, and I expect a clear answer…  **_Did you kill Ozpin_ ** ?” 

 

Cinder looked away from Salem; How can she be expected to give her an answer if her voice can be barely heard? She turned to Emerald and signaled for her to come over. 

 

“ **NO!** ” Salem yelled as she slammed her hands on the table; her eyes glowed of orange. Emerald went back in her place while Cinder turned her attention back to her. 

 

“I want to hear…  **_You_ ** say it.” Salem said to Cinder. 

 

Cinder started to move her lips; her words were raspy a few times before saying hoarsely, “... Yes.” 

 

There was a moment of silence between them; Salem straightened up in her seat, before turning to the Seer. “Reinforce our numbers at Beacon.” Salem told the Seer, “The  **_Relic_ ** is there.” 

 

With a click the Seer glided away out of the room; Emerald and Mercury drew further away from it as it had passed by. Salem sat back in her chair and placed her fingers under her chin, thinking to herself. 

 

“... What are you planning?”

* * *

 

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

Yang couldn’t believe what she had just heard from the young teen before her. He knows her name! Her actual name! How?! How was that even possible!? Angel saw the look on her face, and he rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

 

“... Yeah, I had a feeling that would be your reaction.” Angel said, “It sounds crazy I know, but… Ah, you probably do--” 

 

“How?” Yang asked cutting him off; Angel looked at Yang befuddled, “How… Do you know her? Was she here?! In Patch!?” 

 

“Okay, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting that reaction…” Angel said, putting his hands together, “I thought you’d think I was crazy.” 

 

“Just answer the question!” Yang said, “Was. She. Here!?” 

 

Angel had answered, “Well… Yes, and no. Like I said, a Grimm was the one that told me. It’s kind of hard to explain.” 

 

“Than explain it to me!” Yang demanded, “If it’s about Destiny, than I need to know! You have to tell me!” 

 

Angel looked to the door, hoping that Taiyang didn’t hear all the commotion that was going on right now. When he was sure that he wasn’t there listening, he turned back to Yang. “Okay. I’ll explain it to you.” Angel said, “But not here… Can we go somewhere that’s more private than in the kitchen?” 

 

Yang nodded to him, and motioned him to follow her, to which he did. They had gone up the stairs and into her room; she looked the door behind her, so that there would be no interruptions from her father. She turned to the fanus before her, “Alright, now start explaining.”

 

“Where do you want me to start?” Angel asked her. 

 

“Start from the beginning.” Yang said to him, “Tell me everything up till now.” 

 

Angel nodded to her; he pulled up a chair that was by her desk in her room and he sat down while Yang leaned against her dresser. 

 

With that, Angel had started to explain it to her. 

 

“Well, for starters, to why I’m in Patch in the first place… I’ve done a lot of traveling ever since I was a child. Since my father passed away I’ve just been wandering across the four Kingdoms, to help out whoever I can at every town or village I come across. I took on jobs from time to time, but other than that, it’s just been me just going from one place to another. But than… I heard that Ozpin had gone missing after the fall of Beacon. I started to look for him, sometimes returning to the towns and villages I’ve been to before in the Kingdoms. Eventually I heard about a girl getting moved ahead in two years from the academy in Signal. Your sister Ruby. When I heard she came from Patch, I came straight here, hoping I can get her help to find Ozpin; Since I’m a Dragon Faunus it made it easy for me to fly over here. I couldn’t get here by boat anyway since I don’t have any money. While looking through the island however, I noticed a Grimm… A beowolf just wandering through the forest.” 

 

Yang had gotten confused at this. “Wandering?” She asked him, “What do you mean?” 

 

Angel continued his explanation, “... I thought it was looking for its pack at first, and I was going to take it out before it could, but when I followed it just stopped and whimpered like an injured dog. As I had gotten closer to it, I saw instead of burning red eyes, it had instead glowed green and had a look of innocence to it...  **_As if it was a child_ ** .” 

 

Yang slightly gasped at this, while her eyes widened. She had remembered hearing this before when she had woken up in the safe zone; she had heard someone say that the Dragon that flew from Mountain Glenn that it’s eyes had changed color in a certain pattern; From orange to green. She didn’t acknowledge it at first, but since she was hearing this now, she couldn’t help but wonder…

 

Angel pressed on with his story, “I approached the beowolf, preparing myself in case it had attacked, but I was shocked when it didn’t. It had finally noticed that I was there and turned to me. To my surprise it had just started to talk to me; I was even more shocked when I heard a little girl’s voice in the beowolf. It--She told me that she was scared, and she was looking for the people, her friends, her family… She said, she needed them to find her.” 

 

Yang finally felt her legs weaken; she backed up and allowed herself to fall onto her bed that was behind her. She couldn’t believe this… Destiny, was actually looking for her, her team, her own father! It was just insane; she had told them, she  **_SAW_ ** herself she could calm Grimm, but now this! If he had told anyone else this, she would be sure they would put him into a mental institute. 

 

“Why…?” Yang asked, “Why was she scared?” 

 

Angel answered, “I… Don’t know. Her words didn’t make much sense. All she said was she was looking for you, your sister, your friends and her father; she said where she was dark, and she didn’t know where she was keeping her. I tried to tell her that I didn’t understand what she was saying exactly, but before I knew it, the beowolf attacked me, after it’s eyes changed back to red. I tried to fight it off but it got the upperhand. I had done my best to get the little one back so she could tell me more, but my aura broke and I received my injuries. Your father showed up just in time, and ended up killing the Grimm. From there, you know the rest of the story.”

 

Yang ran her hand through her hair, with a stunned look on her face. This whole time Destiny has been trying to find her; her sisters, her friends, even her dad. She didn’t even know she was capable of something like that. Just talking through the Grimm; If she’d known she would’ve told them. She didn’t know how it was possible but… It was. It was a miracle to hear that Destiny was speaking through the Grimm, trying find them. Trying to find the people she loved.

 

Yang buried her face in her hand; soon enough Angel saw tears stream down her face. 

 

“Yang…?” Angel said with concern, seeing her tears, “Oh God Yang, is it something I said? If it is I’m sorry.” 

 

To his surprise, he heard Yang start to laugh; he soon realized that she wasn’t crying out of sadness. They were tears of joy. She wiped her eyes as she finally smiled as she laughed slightly.  

 

“She’s alive…” Yang said through her tears, “...Dessie is alive…”

* * *

 

- **_Meanwhile_ ** -

 

Ruby, with her friends along with Roman, Neo and team CRMS walked along the pathway trying to get to the next town, so they could grab some shelter for the coming storm for the night. Ruby was trying to make sense of the map as she lead the group. 

 

“Okay guys!” Ruby said, “If we pick up the pace we can get over to the next town before sunset.” 

 

“Assuming that it’s still there.” Jaune said still feeling down after the town from before. 

 

“Don’t worry, it will be.” Cristal said, “Beside this town is supposed to be better than, the others we’ve been to.”

 

“Yeah she’s right.” Ruby said, “This town is called… Um… I-gan--Uh…? Bane-ra…?” 

 

Roman leaned over Ruby’s shoulder and read, “That says Higanbana Red.” 

 

“Right, I knew that!” Ruby said as she laughed nervously, her face turned red from embarrassment. 

 

“I’ve been bounty hunting from across Remnant but I don’t think I’ve heard of that town before.” Rosario said, “Anyone know what we can expect?” 

 

“From what I heard it’s a well protected village with a popular inn.” Ren said. 

 

“Which means we won’t have to sleep in the rain!” Nora said with a smile. 

 

“That’s good to know.” Neo said, “It’s nice to know that we’ll be sleeping in a warm bed with a roof over our heads. That and a good shower doesn’t hurt either.” 

 

“Yeah. Though I do like camping, taking a break from all of it will be nice, even if it’s only for the night.” Scout said. 

 

“See Jaune?” Ruby said, “Everything is gonna be fine!” 

 

“I guess.” Jaune said, “I mean it could be worse. I honestly thought we would see more of Grimm out here.” Senka growled slightly at Jaune, “Well, other than him of course.” 

 

“Speaking of which, we can’t exactly walk in there with Senka. It would be very hard to explain that he’s not here to hurt anyone.” Ren said, “Any ideas?” 

 

“Don’t worry, I have that covered.” Cristal said before turning to Senka, “Hey, listen. Fly ahead to the other side of the town and stay hidden till I call for you.” Senka understood her words, and spread his wings. With a running start he took flight high in the skies and flew way ahead of the group. “There.” Cristal said, “Now unless if I call for him, no one will even know he’s with us.” 

 

“Okay that takes care of that problem, but… What about these two?” Melody asked gesturing over to Roman and Neo, “Not to be offensive or anything, but there are people still looking for these guys after what they were involved in the downfall of Beacon. True, they turned over a new leaf but others may not see it that way.” 

 

“I can always disguise myself.” Neo said, “It is a part of my semblance after all and my tricks managed to fool even professional Huntsmen and Huntresses whenever I’m on undercover jobs.” 

 

“And if it’s any consolation to anyone, I’m fine with doing the usual and just camp out doors.” Roman said. 

 

“But there’s going to be a storm tonight.” Ruby said, “You might catch a cold if you’re caught out in the rain.” 

 

“I appreciate the concern Red, but I’ll be fine. I’m not one to get sick easily.” Roman said. 

 

“Even so, it’s not exactly the smartest idea to be in the outdoors alone.” Cristal said, “Grimm might attack you in your sleep and we can’t have that.” 

 

“Than what do you suggest I do?” Roman asked.

 

The whole group thought about it, and there was silence. Nora soon hatched an idea, “We’ll do what Neo does and disguise you!” 

 

Roman seemed taken back by this, “I… Don’t know. I’m not really big on, dress-up.” 

 

“You’ve gotta stay undercover Roman.” Ruby said, “We’d rather not let you end up in prison.” 

 

“I think we can whip something up, with the stuff we have.” Jaune said. 

 

“Might as well try it.” Rosario said. 

 

Roman let out a groan of defeat as he said, “Fine, as long I don’t look too ridiculous.” 

 

“Yay! Luck is finally on our side!” Nora said, “ **TO HIGANBANA!** ” 

 

“ **TO HIGANBANA!** ” The rest of team Jaune, Ren, and Team CRMS shouted. 

 

“ **TO HIGBA---** ” Ruby tried to yell before she shouted, “ **BANNA!** ” The group couldn’t help but look at her funny before pressing on.  

 

Just as the group went ahead, Melody stopped in her tracks for a moment when she thought she heard something. She turned to the cliffs that were nearby; her partner Scout noticed this and turned to her. “... Melody? What is it?” 

 

Scout swore that she saw Melody smirking, as she turned to her, “Oh it’s nothing. Let’s go catch up with the others.” 

 

“Uh…” Scout said awkwardly, “Okay…” 

 

They walked to catch up with the group who had already walked ahead. 

 

Up on the cliff, a beowolf stood on the edge prepared to attack on the unsuspecting group. Before it could pounce, a blade had suddenly gone through it’s chest, killing it instantly.  **_Qrow_ ** threw his blade over his shoulder as he looked to the group. His attention was slightly drawn to a raven that flew from the tree. He looked back to the group. 

 

Qrow couldn’t help but scoff, “Huh… Luck.”

* * *

 

_ “ **Yang! Yang!** ”  _

 

_ Yang found herself standing in the middle of the Beacon courtyard; everything looked like the way it was when she had first arrived at the academy with her sister. She looked down and saw that her arm was back, like nothing happened, which left Yang shocked of course. However she soon discarded that thought when she heard someone call out to her.  _

 

_ “Yang! Yang!”  _

 

_ She looked up and saw that it was a familiar twelve year old girl with magenta and orange hair. “... Destiny?” Yang said.  _

 

_ The child laughed as she smiled her usual warm smile. She turned and started to run in the other direction. “Hey! Wait!” Yang exclaimed; she started to run after Destiny through the school grounds as she called out to her. Just when she thought she lost her, she always heard her laughter; she would turn and see her run from her.  _

 

_ “Dessie!” Yang yelled, calling the child by her nickname, “Stop! Where are you going!?”  _

 

_ Finally she saw Destiny run through the doors of the cafeteria building. Yang ran towards the building, and went through the doors. But, as she did, everything that was once lively, had suddenly turned into an eerie red color, with smoke and flames surrounding the whole building. Nevermores, and creatures of Grimm were heard roaring, screeching just outside, like it was all those months ago.  _

 

_ Yang’s eyes widened slightly, but soon started to look around for the little one who ran into the building.  _

 

_ “Destiny!” Yang called out, “Destiny, where are you!?”  _

 

_ The minute went further into the building, she froze with fear. There in the room, she saw Adam Taurus walking towards her. His hair, mask and coat glowed red like the Grimm as he slowly walked towards her. Yang got into her fighting stance, and suddenly saw her weapons, her Ember Celica were on her hands, armed and ready for combat. Out of fear she started to fire at Adam, but the bullets when straight through him.  _

 

_ As Adam went to his sword, Yang went to fire again. But that’s when she saw her Ember Celica were no longer there. Instead she was back in her current state, with her arm missing and bandaged. At that point she felt helpless; she couldn’t do anything in the state she was in. She looked down and she was put into an even more horrified state of mind.  _

 

_ There on the floor just in front of her was Destiny, her body covered in black slime, her eyes opened slightly like she was half dead.  _

 

_ “I’m scared…” The little one said reaching out to her, “... Please… Please help me… I need you…”  _

 

_ With a trembling hand, she reached out to the little one, but soon realized that someone was right in front of her. Yang gasped when she Adam standing right in front of her. Adam smirked to her and went to draw his sword and-- _

* * *

 

“Yang! Yang! Wake up!” 

 

Yang awoke with a gasp as she found herself back in her room. Angel was beside her who shook her awake. She slowly sat up from her bed as she rubbed her head. 

 

“Are you alright?” Angel asked, “It looked like you were having a nightmare.” 

 

Yang replied hesitantly, “Y--yeah, I’m fine.” She looked over to the robotic arm that was on the dresser, before she let out a sigh just thinking about what to do about the robotic arm exactly. It had been some time after she received this as a gift from her father. Despite telling him that she would try it on later, she still hadn’t even moved it from where she had placed the arm after taking it out from the box. She didn’t want to admit it, but, she was just scared to put on her new limb. It was just something she couldn’t get used to in all honesty. 

 

It wasn’t long before Angel and her heard laughter coming from downstairs. Curious to see what it was, they went to check it out. They tiptoed down the stairs and heard the laughter coming from the kitchen. As they went over to peak in, Yang recognized the two new voices; this being her teachers, Professor Port, and Dr. Oobleck. 

 

“And, and, and then, in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt!” Port said through his laughter, “I was just a TA than! I didn’t know what to do, so I just left the room and laughed!” 

 

Taiyang and Oobleck laughed along with Port; Yang and Angel couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, just at the mere thought of this. 

 

“We told him it was a kilt!” Taiyang said, “He never wore a uniform before, so he had no idea!” 

 

“Oh that is terrible!” Oobleck said with a smile, “What is wrong with you!?” 

 

“Hey! All the girls said he had nice legs!” Taiyang said, “I did that jerk a favor! Besides that’s not even the best part! Then we--” 

 

Port cut him off by placing his leg on the table. “ _ Like what you see? _ ” He said, pretending to be Qrow.  The three of them burst out laughing; Port ended up losing his balance as he fell flat on the floor, causing them to laugh even harder. 

 

Finally Yang nor Angel could hold it all in; they finally laughed which had gotten the attention of Oobleck and Port; Port immediately straightened up, while Oobleck stood up from his seat. 

 

“Oh Miss Xiao Long!” Port said awkwardly, “Good evening!” 

 

“It is uh--very good to see you!” Oobleck said. 

 

“It’s good to see you guys too.” Yang said, as her and Angel entered the kitchen. 

 

Port and Oobleck noticed Angel just behind her. “And you must be young Angel that Taiyang mentioned earlier.” 

 

“Ah, yes, yes, it’s very nice to meet you!” Oobleck said to Angel, “Mr…?” 

 

“Uh, no need for formalities, Angel is just fine.” The teen said to the two teachers, “Your one of the teachers at Beacon right? It’s an honor to meet the both of you.” 

 

“Won’t you two join us?” Port asked the two of them. 

 

“Yes, please pull up a chair!” Oobleck said. 

 

“I’m good.” Yang said going by her father; she took a seat up top the kitchen counter. 

 

“I prefer to stand, but thanks anyway.” Angel said while he went to the opposite side of the kitchen as he leaned against the wall; Oobleck and Port both took there seats. 

 

“What are you guys doing here?” Yang asked curiously to the two professors. 

 

“Well, despite popular belief teachers do have a life outside of the classroom.” Oobleck replied to Yang. 

 

Port had added, “Professor Goodwitch is working around the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory! But Mistral wasn’t built in a day. And we all need rest from time to time.” 

 

“Hey let’s not worry about that!” Taiyang said, before continuing his story from earlier, “So, there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow, wearing a skirt! Then Oz tells everyone, ‘ _ It’s time to work on our landing strategy!’ _ ” 

 

Everyone laughed at this, before catching their breath. 

 

“The  **_Branwen Twins_ ** have always been… Interesting to say the least.” Oobleck said; Yang flinching slightly at the mentioning of it. 

 

“That didn’t seem to stop young Tai!” Port said

 

Angel gave a curious look to that, as he looked over in Taiyang’s and his daughters direction. “Hey guys come on, she’s right here.” Taiyang said, earning a look from Yang. 

 

“Oh please!” Port said, “She’s a mature young woman! If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jabs at her old man!” 

 

“That’s not the issue Pete!” Taiyang said, “And besides, she’s also a teenager.” 

 

“Excuse me!” Yang said jumping down from the counter, “ **_She_ ** is also in the room and can be directly spoken to. And  **_I_ ** think I’ve been through enough to be considered an adult at this point.” 

 

Taiyang let out a sigh, “Whether your an adult or not, you’ve still got a lot to learn before you’re ready for the real world.” 

 

Yang rolled her eyes at this, “Oh my gosh! Does every father figure have the same three condescending phrases?” 

 

“Yeah, but we only use it when we mean it!” 

 

“Is that so?” 

 

“As a matter of fact, it is so! If you honestly think that you’re ready to go out there on your own, huh, well I guess you lost some of brain cells along with that arm!” 

 

The room suddenly grew deadly silent when Taiyang had said this, and Port, Oobleck, and Angel’s jaw dropped at this. The mug slowly fell out of Oobleck’s hand at it the solid surface of the table. Angel wondered what Yang was going to exactly; though he was surprised as ever when Yang playfully punched his arm and laughed. 

 

“You jerk!” She said with a smile as Taiyang started to laugh along with her. 

 

Angel pushed himself from the wall and said getting their attention, “Okay… Just to check, you’re going to address the Goliath in the room?” 

 

Taiyang and Yang both looked at one another, before they started to laugh again; Angel began to laugh awkwardly along with them, while Port and and Oobleck did the same. Though after awhile there laughter transpired from an awkwardness to more of an relieved laughter. Soon enough it came to an end. 

 

“Oh, Miss Xiao L--I mean Yang.” Port said, “If you don’t mind me asking, why haven’t you tried on the arm yet?” 

 

“Ah, yes, yes!” Oobleck said, “A piece of Atlas technology given out like that is rare indeed! Not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want you returned to normal.” 

 

Yang let out a sigh as she looked where her arm once was. 

 

“I’m…  **_Scared._ ** ” She finally said, “Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal. And I appreciate it. But…  **_This is normal now_ ** . It’s just taking me awhile to get used to it.”

 

Port and Oobleck both exchanged sad glances to one another, while Angel went over to Yang. 

 

“Listen Yang…” Angel started to say, “I may not know the exact pain you’ve been going through, and I won’t say that I understand you what you’ve been through, but… Sometimes it’s just okay to be scared. There was a time when I was just terrified of something that I couldn’t sleep for months, and I’ve tried just to pretend the fear was never there. But I’ve learned that you can do two things. You can either let it hang around you, and it let consume you, or… You can learn to conquer it, but just know you don’t have to conquer your fear alone.” 

 

“Angel…” Yang said, moved by his words. 

 

“He does make a good point.” Taiyang said getting two of the teens attention, “Besides… Normal is what you make of it.” 

 

Yang gave her father a look at this, “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing's happened? **_I lost a part of me_ ** . A piece of me is gone, and it’s never coming back.” 

 

“You’re right.” Taiyang said, “It’s not coming back. But that doesn’t have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You’re Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you’re ready to stop moping and get back out there… I’ll be there for you.” 

 

Yang looked to Taiyang and Angel, surprised to hear something like this from her dad and the young teen she barely knew. 

 

“I--I--” Yang stammered. 

 

Port soon said getting her attention, “Fear is like an emotion. It comes and goes. It’s all how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time.” 

 

“Really? You?” Yang said not necessarily believing it. 

 

“What is that you’re afraid of?” Angel said. 

 

Oobleck whispered to the two of them, “He’s afraid of mice.” 

 

“ **THEY ONLY BRING DISEASE AND FAMINE!** ” Port exclaimed, causing Yang and Angel to laugh. 

 

“ **AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THEIR TAILS! SO HAIRLESS AND SIMPLY UNNATURAL!** ”

 

“Port I assure you, there are no mice here.” 

 

After awhile, Yang and Angel headed up the stairs to call it a night. They bid their farewells to Port and Oobleck and headed to their rooms. Yang walked into her room stopping in place when she saw the robotic arm, thinking about what Angel and her father said to her. It wasn’t long before she heard commotion outside of the house. She went over to the window and listened. 

 

“Thanks for having us over Tai.” Port had said. 

 

“Anytime.” Taiyang replied, “You’re always welcome.” 

 

“It may be awhile before we return.” Oobleck said, “There’s still much work to be done at the school.” 

 

Port had said, “... I hesitate to ask this, but, I understand that you’re niece and Miss Rose have been away from Patch for sometime. Have you heard from either of them?” 

 

Taiyang replied, “Well… Melody’s texts stopped coming after the CCT fell, as for Ruby… I haven’t heard anything from her yet.” 

 

“Have you thought about going after them?” Oobleck asked, “Try to bring them home?” 

 

Taiyang let out a sigh, “I’ve got to… Look after some things.” Yang hid herself from the view of her father and squeezed her upper arm, having a look of dejection. Angel soon came into the room. “Angel…” Yang said noticing that he entered, “Hey, listen… Thank you for, what you said back there. It was something I really needed to hear.” 

 

“It’s no big deal.” Angel said with a shrug, “But… Are you sure you’re okay?” 

 

“What do you mean?” Yang asked him. 

 

Angel looked over at robotic arm, before noticing that her corgi plush was on the floor. He picked it up, “... I know that you’re scared, but like I said before, you don’t have to conquer your fear alone. And I don’t mean to push you or tell you what to do, but… That arm will be able to help you conquer it too, like they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And if you won’t do it for your father, your sister or even your friends…” 

 

He held the plush out to Yang, “...  **_Than do it for her_ ** .” 

 

Yang took the plush from him and looked at the little corgi plush before hugging it. “Dessie…” Yang said before thinking in her head, “ **_... When I’ve done what I needed to do… Than I’ll come find you… I promise you…_ ** ”

* * *

 

- ** _Somewhere in Anima;_**   **_Later that Night_ ** -

 

“I look completely ridiculous.” 

 

As said before from the team, they managed to put on a disguise for Roman; Luckily Scout was an expert in sewing dust into clothing, so it proved to be easy getting the outfit that they needed for him. Roman had to undo his hair tie so it would be left loosely and he even had to undo his curls while his bowler hat was kept off. 

 

His outfit instead of his usual new outfit he had on a green coat with brown pants and overalls that just hung loosely with a green shirt that was baggy. 

 

“Don’t be so modest, you look fine.” Ruby said, “And this way, people won’t be able to recognize you now.” 

 

“Good thing I had that extra Dust on me.” Rosario said, “Creating this outfit was a snap.”

 

“Why the hell did I even agree something like this?” Roman said with a certain look on his face. 

 

He turned over to Neo who was already in her disguise; the same black hair and green eyes with twin tails, black blouse and white collar and black skirt and white boots, like when she was in the Vytal Festival Tournament. 

 

“You’re lucky you don’t have to put up with dress up.” Roman said to Neo, “You can just change your appearance no problem.” 

 

“Yeah, though the downside for me is the amount of concentration it takes to pull off this trick, other than that it does come in handy for quick getaways.” Neo said.

 

Just as this was said, they noticed a few drops of water, before it started to rain. “Oh crap! We better get to the Inn!” Jaune said. 

 

“No need to say it twice!” Ren said. 

 

The group made a run for it in the town and managed to get to the inn before it started to rain like cats and dogs. “Holy hell, we would’ve been completely soaked out there.” Cristal said, “That storm came up pretty quick.” 

 

“It’s a real good thing that we’re not camping outside.” Nora said getting the water off. Frosty shook off the water while Melody shut her eyes from the water. “Yeah thanks for that little buddy, just when I finished drying off.” Melody said. 

 

“Come on guys, let’s go and see if there’s a room available.” Ruby said, “Than we can grab dinner!” 

 

“Yay, dinner! I’m starving!” Scout said. 

 

Just as the group went to the front desk Roman stopped in his tracks when he noticed someone looking on from the tavern just across. Neo noticed the look on his face and looked where he was. “Roman…” Neo said, her eyes changing to brown. 

 

“I know.” Roman said, “Neo… Go with the others, tell them I’ll catch up.” 

 

“Are you sure?” Neo asked. 

 

Roman turned Neo and nodded slightly to her. Neo let out a sigh and nodded; her eyes changed back to the color green before joining the others. Roman walked out of the Inn and entered the tavern just across. Just as he suspected he saw a familiar Huntsman was sitting at one of the tables.

 

It was Qrow, Ruby’s Uncle, and Melody’s father. 

 

“Roman.” Qrow greeted. 

 

“Huntsman.” Roman said not even calling him by his name, “I had a feeling someone was on our tail for awhile. Didn’t think it would be Red’s famous uncle.” 

 

Qrow pointed to the seat just across from him, “Why don’t you take a seat? I wanna talk to you about something.” 

 

Roman looked at Qrow, having a tense look on his face; until he reassured him, “Relax, I’m not gonna turn you in. Like I said, I just wanna talk, one family man to another, since we didn’t get a chance back in Vale.” Finally, Roman let out a sigh, as he took a seat just across from Qrow. A waitress came by the table, “What can I get you?” She asked with a smile. 

 

“I’m good.” Qrow said to her, before pointing to Roman, “But his drink is on me.” 

 

The Waitress nodded and turned to Roman, waiting for him to order a drink. 

 

“Just some scotch if you got any. Make it a double.” Roman said, to the Waitress. 

 

“Coming right up sir.” She said, as she went to get what he asked for. Roman turned his attention back to the Huntsman across from him. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?” Roman asked. 

 

“I appreciate you and your partner looking after my niece.” Qrow said, “The fact that your actually watching her back as she is watching yours. The fact that you’ve been helping her instead of trying to kill her, I have to say I’m surprised at this.” 

 

“Where exactly are you going with this?” Roman asked him. 

 

Qrow said, “I’m just wondering about something… When you find your daughter, and I’m not saying that you won’t I sincerely hope you do, but… What will do after you find her?” 

 

Roman’s eyes widened slightly at this, but he chose not to answer it. 

 

Qrow said to him, “... After all is set and done, and you get your daughter back, you can’t exactly go back to breaking the law for a living.” 

 

“You don’t think I know that?” Roman said to Qrow, “After what I did, what Cinder made me do in Vale and Beacon… Things just can’t go back to way they were.” 

 

“You plan on running away with her?” 

 

“I would normally… But, my daughter doesn’t deserve that life. Besides… I made a promise to her as well, and I can’t bring myself to break her heart. Why are you asking me?”

 

The Waitress returned with Roman’s drink; after thanking the Waitress, he took the glass and sipped from it. Qrow soon answered, “Well, I’m only asking because, after what you’ve gotten yourself involved in, with Vale and Beacon in all, I can tell you that a few certain people will think that you’re not dad of the year.” 

 

Roman clenched his fist on the glass, causing it to crack slightly. “Are you trying to threaten me?” Roman asked with a glare. 

 

“No, of course I’m not.” Qrow reassured him, “I’m just saying that when everything is over, they’re going to be consequences. And I can tell just from your reaction that you don’t want her to be taken away.” 

 

Roman gritted his teeth before saying, “My daughter is the only thing I have in this hell of a world. It was bad enough when she was taken from me by Cinder; we were both apart from each other for two whole years, and now these months not knowing where the hell she is…. I can’t bare to be apart from her any longer. I’m surprised I haven’t even been driven insane by it yet.” 

 

“You could’ve avoided it all of it, what Cinder made you involve in. You could’ve gone to the police or told Ironwood when he had you up in his ship about your daughter’s kidnapping but you chose not say anything and instead play along with it.” Qrow said to him.

 

Roman replied, after taking another sip from his glass of scotch, “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not the biggest fan of law enforcement even before I started to lie, steal and cheat for a living. Especially for Atlas not being there when my town was attacked by the Grimm. Do you realize how many of my friends died trying to buy time for Atlas to change come help? I witnessed most of the people I once considered a family getting eaten alive, and let me tell you it as something I could never erase from my head. They tried calling for help,  **_I_ ** tried calling for help **_,_ ** but Atlas never came.” 

 

“That wasn’t their fault and you know it Roman, though that doesn’t mean you had to play the part in the destruction of Vale and Beacon.” 

 

“I had no choice. Besides, even if I could tell them, she threatened to kill her if I had told anyone about her and their plans.”

 

“People always have a choice. You just made the stupid one and got your only kid involved in something dangerous.” 

 

“I’ve been involved ever since my wife told me her  **_secret_ ** , and I tried to hide my daughter from all of it!”

 

“I can see you did a bang up job at that.”

 

Roman gritted his teeth again and sat back in his seat, “Do you know the part where I just punch you several times in the face, because we’re coming up to that pretty soon.” 

 

Qrow ran his hand through his hair, “Look Roman… It’s no secret that I’ve been trailing behind you guys. I’ve seen that you’ve changed and that you love Destiny as much as I love my own two nieces and daughter. So right now, I’m offering you a choice that’s not a stupid one, that is if you care to listen.”

 

Roman gave a quizzical look to Qrow at this, “What do you have in my mind?”

 

“You want your kid to have a normal life while she still can after this is all over don’t you?” Qrow said, “Patch can provide all you need, but before that I can help you to disappear, make it seem like you never existed.” 

 

“You can really do that?” 

 

“Don’t underestimate what Huntsman can do.”

 

Roman gave a look to the Huntsman before him, “Why would you want to do that for me?” 

 

“Who knows? Maybe it’s because I owe for watching Ruby’s back during the chaos…” Qrow said, “Or maybe it’s because of what you’re doing now, we may never know as to why. Just be thankful of what I’m offering you, what do you say?” 

 

Roman let out a sigh as he finished his drink, “.... It really is an offer I can’t refuse, but, for now… I just want to focus on finding my daughter.” 

 

Qrow nodded, “I understand, just don’t forget what I’m offering you.” 

 

Roman stood up from his seat, “I should get back to them. They might be wondering where I am.” Roman turned and went to go out the door; though he stopped in his tracks, and turned his head slightly, “Thanks for the drink. Have a good night **_Huntsman_ ** .” 

 

With that Roman went back to the entrance and out the door. But… Just by the door he didn’t realize two people were watching him leave. One having magenta and orange hair, covering her right eye, and the other having long red hair, just up to the waist, with her right eye, being a vivid green. 

 

“That’s him than?” The girl with red hair had said. 

 

“Yes…” The girl with orange and magenta hair said, “That’s Roman Torchwick… And if he’s here… Cristal is bound to be with him.” 

 

“It maybe possible that the Silver Eyed Warrior is with them as well. What do we do?” 

 

“We have to know for certain that she is even among them. For now, we’ll report back what we’ve found to  **_Tyrian_ ** , and not engage them. We’ll follow them for awhile, until we’re absolutely sure. Do you understand…  **_Elise_ ** ?” 

 

The girl with red hair, who was Elise looked to her comrade, “Of course I do,  **_Diamond_ ** .”

* * *

 

- **_Sometime Ago; Later that Night_ ** -

 

_ The whole group traveled a bit further down the road and eventually had found a town that was well protected in case any Grimm showed up to attack. Tired from all the walking they had decided to rest up at the inn. They had each gotten separate rooms, one for team RNJR, one for CRMS, and finally for Roman and Neo. After having dinner, they turned in for the night.  _

 

_ Ruby didn’t go to sleep right away however; she decided to do some late reading with the books she packed in case she was not engaged with the Grimm. Though every now and again, she would always take a moment to look at the bracelet that was around her wrist. Often some nights were like this; she would wonder if Destiny had any nightmares, or was even sleeping peacefully, wherever she was.  _

 

_ Ruby let out a sigh, “I really hope your okay Dessie, wherever you are we’ll find you.”  _

 

_ Ruby looked at the time that was on her scroll, “It is getting pretty late… I should hit the hay.”  _

 

_ Ruby stood up and went to put the book away in her bag, but soon saw outside that Roman was there alone, while having a puff of smoke. Ruby tilted her head, wondering as to why he was out there so late. Still worried about how he was, she decided to go outside and see how he was doing.  _

 

_ She had gone down the stairs and went out the back door of the inn. She approached Roman from behind, lightly tapping him on the shoulder; Roman jumped slightly, before sighing with relief, “Oh, it’s just you Red. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”  _

 

_ “If you and I were still enemies I probably would’ve whooped your butt at that remark.” Ruby said with a smile as she nudged him with her elbow. Roman couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at this, before he looked to the horizon again. Ruby looked to the horizon admiring the view and the shattered moon that shined in the sky. There was silence between them as they looked to the sky and horizon. Ruby looked over to Roman before clearing her throat.  _

 

_ “... Neo told me, why you looked so upset.” Ruby said.  _

 

_ Roman exhaled the smoke, “... Did she now?”  _

 

_ “... You still miss her don’t you?” Ruby asked, “Trinity I mean…”  _

 

_ Roman had said nothing, he just took another puff from his cigar. “You know… It’s okay to miss the people you love. It’s how my dad my felt when my mom passed away and it’s--” _

 

_ “It’s not that.” Roman said cutting her off, “I know it’s okay to miss people you love but that’s not what I’m thinking about.”  _

 

_ Ruby looked at him with curious eyes, “Than, why are you so upset?”  _

 

_ Roman replied hesitantly, “Every time this day comes and goes, I just find myself back to that day when I fought for my life, when we all fought for our lives. I just kept thinking over and over again in my head on what I should’ve done, and how things could’ve changed. I told my wife to wait for me with Destiny until I returned home, but… I kept telling myself that I should’ve stayed with her to protect her… to keep her safe, but instead…”  _

 

_ Ruby noticed his hands shaking, as he tried to continue with his words, but he just couldn’t. Ruby placed her hands over his; he flinched at this.  _

 

_ “Roman… Don’t get me wrong, but I understand how you feel about it.” Ruby said, “I may have been a little girl, but I felt the same way when I lost my mom and even what had happened to Pyrrha. Every scenario I thought about it over in my head about what would happen if my mom was saved or if I had gotten to Pyrrha in time. But I learned a long time ago that you can’t change what happened, and what matters is what we do now.”  _

 

_ Roman just snickered, “You say that and yet I failed to protect my own daughter. How pathetic is that? I couldn’t keep one promise to her or even Trinity’s.”  _

 

_ “I know that your blaming yourself for what happened to her, and Destiny’s disappearance.” Ruby said, “But… It isn’t your fault, it never was.”  _

 

_ “I could’ve been there to save my wife and I was too much of a coward to even save my own daughter, I’m just a lousy father as I was as a husband. How can you say that it wasn’t my fault?”  _

 

_ “Because it was a mistake, and you can learn from it. Sure they’re some mistakes you can’t fix but, what matters is what you can do for Destiny now. I know you’ve made mistakes but that’s okay, it’s what makes us people after all. And don’t beat yourself up not being about being a horrible father and husband. You did what you could for your wife, but you can still make things right for Destiny when we find her.”  _

 

_ Roman cracked a smile as he turned in her direction, “You sure do have a way with words, don’t you Red?”  _

 

_ “I just rather not see you sad, especially after all that’s happened, and you could use a friend to talk to.”  _

 

_ “A friend huh…? That’s something I haven’t heard in a long time, and now I’m being comforted by a kid. Oh how the mighty have fallen.”  _

 

_ Ruby giggled, “I would rather consider it an accomplishment.”  _

 

_ Roman couldn’t help but laugh along with her, as she continued her fits of giggles. After a while they had gone back inside into the Inn, Roman to his room down the hall. They both bidded each other good night as they went to their rooms for the night.  _

 

_ “That was quite a conversation.”  _

 

_ Ruby was somewhat startled, but calmed herself when she saw that it was just Cristal, wearing a purple nightgown with yellow sweater. “I’d dare say that you managed to cheer him up.”  _

 

_ “You were listening?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ “Sorry I couldn’t help but overhear.” Cristal replied, “... That was one heck of a thing you told him, I bet he was grateful to you.”  _

 

_ Ruby smiled satisfied, “Well, like I told him, he looked like he could use a friend.” _

 

_ “A friend huh?” Cristal said, “I think your one of the people Roman would consider a friend despite your history.” _

 

_ “I thought Neo was a friend of his.” _

 

_ “You’ve seen the way they are. They’re more family than friends. Roman could really use one in these times, as can we all. It was nice that you said those things. He may not look like it, but he does appreciate it.”  _

 

_ “I know, I could tell.” Ruby said, “And I’m happy that I was able to do something for him. I really hate to see a person down.”  _

 

_ “You’re a really good person Ruby.” Cristal said with a smile, “... It’s no wonder why  _ **_she_ ** _ likes you.”  _

 

_ Ruby looked at her with confusion as she didn’t hear the last part that Cristal had said. “Did you say something?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ Cristal smiled and shook her head, “It’s nothing, I’m going to head back to bed got a long day of walking and who knows, we might battle some Grimm along the way. See ya in the morning Ruby.”  _

 

_ “Ye-yeah, sure.” Ruby said.  _

 

_ Before Ruby could go back to her room, she noticed that Cristal had dropped something peculiar on the floor. It was a photograph.  _

 

_ “Huh? A pic--Wait!”  _

 

_ Ruby noticed something peculiar on the picture; It was familiar handwriting that read, “Our Day at Forever Fall”. The young teen immediately went over to the picture and flipped it over, only conforming her theory. It was of her and her team with Destiny.  _

 

_ Which had begged the question to her… Why would Cristal have this picture with her?  _

 

( **_Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana_ ** )


	6. Reunion

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

“Thanks for the drink, have a good night,  **_Huntsman_ ** .” 

 

Roman had taken his leave from the tavern and Qrow sat back in his seat as he went to the inn just across. He let out a sigh hoping that he would take up on what he offered once Destiny was found, though it wasn’t long when a second glass of an alcoholic drink was placed in front of him by a different Waitress. 

 

“Oh, I didn’t--” He started to say before he was cut off.

 

“It’s from the woman upstairs.” The Waitress replied, “ **_Red eyes._ ** Said you wouldn’t mind the bottom shelf.” 

 

Qrow was perplexed and looked to the second floor; he had a pretty good idea on who was the one that ordered the drink for him. 

 

“Thanks.” He said to the waitress. 

 

The Waitress smiled and said, “But… I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you.” With a wink of an eye she went back to work, on serving drinks. Qrow looked back upstairs again with a certain look on his face. He stood up from his seat and went up the stairs to where the woman was. When he got to the top, he saw the a very familiar woman, with black hair and red eyes, a grimm mask beside her. 

 

She smiled when she saw him. 

 

“Hello brother.” She said with a smile. 

 

“ **_Raven._ ** ” Qrow said walking towards the table she sat in. He pulled up a chair but didn’t sit down because of the mask. Raven rolled her eyes and moved the mask, though she didn’t take it off the table. Qrow sat just opposite where she was. 

 

“So what do you want?” Qrow asked. 

 

“A girl just can’t catch up with her family?” Raven said with a simple shrug. 

 

“She could…” Qrow said, “ **_But you’re not_ ** . Now how about we get on with it. Unless you plan on keeping these coming.” 

 

Of course Qrow was referring to his drink that Raven had got for him. Raven lost her smile as she looked up to her twin. 

 

“Does she have  **_them_ ** ?” Was all Raven asked. 

 

Qrow didn’t reply, they just sat at the table in silence; Finally, Qrow spoke up, “Did you know Yang lost her arm?”

 

Raven flinched at this, “That’s not--” 

 

“Rhetorical question, I know you know.” Qrow said cutting her off, “It’s just obnoxious that you’d bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn’t exist. You know even when Melody left to find you, I still give a damn that she is my kid, unlike you.” 

 

“I saved her life!” 

 

“Last I checked you only saved her once. Because that was your rule, wasn’t it? A real “Mom of the Year” material sis.” 

 

Raven grabbed his wrist before he could reach for his drink; she gave him a cold glare. “I told you Beacon would fall,  **_and it did._ ** I told you Ozpin would fail,  **_and he has_ ** . Now tell me… Does Salem have them?” 

 

Qrow raised his eyebrow at this, “I thought you weren’t interested in all of that.” 

 

“ **_She killed Trinity_ ** …. I just want to know what we’re up against.” 

 

“... And which  **_we_ ** are you referring to?” 

 

Raven let out a growl, as she let go of his wrist, she sat back in her seat as did Qrow. “You should come back Raven.” Qrow said to her, “The only way we can beat her is by working together.  **_All of us_ ** .” 

 

“You’re the one who left.” Raven said, “The  **_tribe_ ** raised us, and you turned your back on them.” 

 

Qrow took a sip from his glass, “They were killers and thieves.” 

 

“They were your  **_family_ ** .” 

 

“... You have a very  **_skewed perception_ ** on that word.” 

 

Raven stood up from her seat, ticked off by what he said. “I lead our people now.” Raven said, “And as leader I will do  **_everything_ ** in my power to ensure our survival.” 

 

“I know, I saw.” Qrow said, “ **_The people of Shion saw too_ ** .” 

 

Raven said to him calmly, “The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules.” 

 

“Well you’ve certainly got someone strong on your side. I’ve seen the damage.” 

 

“We could’ve known the Grimm would’ve set in as quickly as they did.” 

 

“I’m not talking about the Grimm.  **_And I’m not talking about you either_ ** .” 

 

Raven turned to Qrow and chuckled, “If you don’t know where  **_the Relic_ ** is, or the whereabouts of Trinity’s child, hell or even if there are the so called  **_Flowers_ ** ... Than we have nothing left to talk about.” 

 

As Raven went to get her mask, Qrow placed his hand on her mask as well, stopping her. “I don’t know where  **_the Spring Maiden_ ** is either. But if you do… I need you to tell me.” 

 

Raven smiled and took her mask from the table, “And why would I do that?” 

 

“Because without her, we’re all going to die.” Qrow replied. 

 

Raven snickered at this, “ **_And which we are you referring to_ ** ?”

 

Raven put on her mask, and with a swing of her sword, she opened a bright red portal. Before she entered, she turned slightly to him. “I’d be careful if I were you from here on out. You never know who could come and attack you…  **_Especially if it’s a familiar face_ ** .” 

 

Qrow gave a quizzical look, as to wondering exactly what she meant, but without another word, Raven entered the portal. Qrow’s attention was drawn when he heard a glass shattered and a gasp. He saw that it was the waitress from earlier, shaking in fear. Her eyes looked to Qrow. 

 

“Make this one a double.” Qrow said to the waitress, referring to his drink. 

 

( **_Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana_ ** )


	7. The Birth of a Shadow

- ** _Three Years Ago_ ** -

 

_The one thing that Destiny was scared of the most, was if there was ever a day when her father didn’t come back home. It was bad enough that she stayed up late at nights just wondering where he was, but it always terrified her that something bad had happened to him, or if he was severely injured or worse._

 

_This… Had been unfortunately one of those days._

 

_Neo was the only one who had entered the tiny little apartment to pick up Destiny. Neo had to be honest with her, she had told Destiny that Roman was currently in the hospital. Of course Destiny demanded to see him. Neo and Destiny had gone to the hospital with Neo taking on a disguise so she would not be recognized by anyone._

 

_There they were sitting in the waiting room, both of them equally nervously and scared for Roman. Neo sat next to the little one, holding Destiny close to her as she played with her hair nervously.  They had been sitting in the room for hours, waiting to hear something, waiting to hear if he was going to be okay._

 

_Soon enough a doctor had approached them._

 

_“Excuse me, Miss. Cella right?” The Doctor said to Neo, calling her by her alias._

 

_Neo stood up, letting go of Destiny so that she could go over to the doctor._

 

_“Is he alright?” Destiny heard Neo ask the doctor._

 

_She heard the Doctor replied, “The surgery was a success. He just needs some rest to recover.”_

_  
_   
_Neo sighed with relief having heard that, “Can we see him?”_

 

_“Of course.” The Doctor said, “He should be awake by now, just make sure you keep your voices down.”_

 

_“Don’t worry we will.” Neo replied, “Thank you.” The Doctor smiled before he went to one of the nurses that called to him. Neo went over to Destiny, “Hey, your dad is going to be okay. You wanna go see him?”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head and took Neo’s hand. They proceeded down the hall hand in hand down the hall, passing by doctors, nurses, and patients that were there. Destiny couldn’t help but avoid contact from the patients that looked over in her direction. Destiny often found herself looking into other rooms, seeing other friends with family members, a lover with a lover. She saw a mother and a father with their child. Destiny couldn’t help but feel distraught at this, when she saw the mom reading a story to her child, and for a moment, she saw herself with her mom and father, as if everything was normal._

 

_A long time ago her father had told her that certain things that had happened, cannot be changed. Destiny knew that, and even though she never met her mother, she wanted what others had. A friend and a regular family; people that loved her just for who she was. She couldn’t help but have this thought as she placed her hand over her eyepatch._

 

_Soon enough they had gotten to Roman’s room, on the second floor. They went inside and found him sitting up on his bed, with half of his body covered with a layer of blankets. His chest was wrapped in bandages up to his neck, and his leg was seen in a cast resting on a pillow. He noticed that Destiny and Neo had entered the room._

 

_“Hey…” Roman groaned weakly trying to sit up properly, “There you guys are…”_

 

_Destiny let go of Neo’s hand and went over to Roman; she jumped on the bed and threw her arms around his neck earning a groan from him. Though despite this he put his arms around her; he felt tears hit his shoulder and neck._

 

_“Hey, hey it’s okay.” Roman said with a gentle voice, “You know that your daddy is tougher than he looks.”_

 

_Destiny finally spoke but choked out her words, “I was… I was so scared… I thought you would leave me alone, like mom did…”_

 

_Roman gently shushed her as he brushed her hair in a comforting way, “You don’t have to worry about that… I would never leave you alone. If I did, I would be breaking my promise I had made to your mother.” Destiny took comfort in his words, but still continued to cry as she buried her head once again in the crook of his neck. Roman still held her in his arms as she did, just comforting the little one. Neo sat closer to them and patted Destiny on her back just to comfort her._

 

_“Doctor said that you need your rest for the time being.” Neo said to Roman, “Looks like your not going to be taking jobs for a while.”_

 

_“... I know.” Roman said, “You don’t need to remind me.”_

 

_Neo let out a sigh, “I’ll be sure to let Junior know about what’s happened, if he’s not heard about it already.”_

 

_Though Destiny never said this out loud, she just wished that things would be different. She knew that it was the best for herself and her father, though she wish she had the courage to convince him to stop, though… She couldn’t. All she could do, was sit and wait for her father to get better, and if necessary, prepare herself for the day, when her father never comes home. Though as she held her father as if she was afraid he would vanish before her very eyes, a very odd looking rabbit sat just by the door holding a single flower petal with a single red eye in the middle in it’s mouth._

* * *

 

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Present; Menagerie_ ** -

 

The boat had just pulled up to the port of the small island; within a short time the ropes where tied on the large bolts and docked. The people started to get off and onto the land of Menagerie, Blake, her little brother Kobi and her friend Sun along with the crowd.

 

Sun looked around amazed just by how many people there were in one spot, let alone the many Fanus around the area, while Blake and Kobi were too surprised about the many people around the port mostly getting what was available in the markets nearby.

 

“This is… Just wow!” Sun said to the two cat Fanus, “I’ve never seen so many Fanus in one place before!”

 

“This is the one place where anyone can feel safe.” Blake explained to Sun, “No matter who or what they are.”

 

The three of them went through the market area. “Is it… Always this crowded?” Sun asked.

 

“Yes, yes it is.” Blake said.

 

“Welcome to Menagerie.” Kobi had added.

 

The three of them soon made their out of the crowded market and through the town and past the many people that had walked along the dirt path. Sun still looked around the area and seeing the people. “Um… Just a quick question…” Sun said passing a man with a crate, nearly bumping into him, “Is it always so cramped?”

 

“Pretty much.” Kobi replied with a shrug, “It’s like this everyday here on Menagerie.”

 

“When you’ve taken an entire species and put them on an island with the two-thirds of it being a desert, it tends to be cramped.” Blake said.

 

Sun dropped his jaw at this, “Seriously, you have that much space!? Than why waste it? A little desert never hurt anybody.”

 

“It isn’t like your turf in Vacuo Monkey Boy.” Kobi said to Sin, “If it were that simple we would’ve used the desert to put houses in by now.”

 

“Again, why don’t you?” Sun asked.

 

“What he’s trying to say is that the desert is filled with more dangerous wildlife than any of the other regions in Remnant.” Blake said.

 

“So, in other words… They gave us a terrible island in the corner of Remnant, to try and shut us up?” Sun asked.

 

“Well if you wanna put it like that than yeah.” Blake said.

 

“That’s basically how it is.” Kobi added.

 

“Hmph… What a bunch of jerks.” Sun said.

 

“We did the best we could for what we got.” Blake said.

 

The three of them went up the large staircase and had soon reached the top. From there they got the view of the rest of the town, and the houses that sat alongside it. A large house sat in the middle of a courtyard that was three stories at least and had a sophisticated rooftop.

 

“Whoa…” Sun said enjoying the view, “What is this place?”

 

“This is Kuro Kuana.” Blake answered.

 

“This is where Blake and I grew up.” Kobi said.

 

“It’s… Beautiful…” Sun said, still amazed by the view, “I take back everything that I said before, this place looks great! Why would anyone want to ever leave?”

 

“Thanks for the compliment, but that’s not the whole point…” Kobi said, his ears going droopy just at the thought.

 

“All we wanted was to be equal like everyone else.” Blake had added, “Though instead we were just given an island and told to make due with it. We did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Fanus could feel welcome. But this island, this town, will just be a reminder. A reminder that we’re still not equal… That we’re just second class citizens…”

 

Blake and Kobi looked to their feet at the thought of the whole thing. The reason why they joined the White Fang in the first place, before it started to deter from what the White Fang was supposed to stand for. They both felt guilty for being a part of something that wanted to take the world that humans lived in through matters of violence. Kobi himself had especially felt guilty for not seeing what they had become sooner.

 

Sun saw the look on their faces and patted them both on the shoulder in a comforting way. He said to them with a smile, “Well, hey, this guy is feeling pretty at home.”

 

Blake smiled to Sun while Kobi took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Speaking of which…” Kobi said putting his hands together, turning to his sister, “It’s time for us to go back to our folks.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Blake said.

 

Sun had gotten excited at this, “Sweet! Can’t wait to meet them! So which one is yours? Can you see it from here?”

 

“Kind of…” Blake said.

 

Sun started pointing to houses on the side of the staircase as he made his guesses. “Is it that one there? Or how about that tiny one there? I like the paintjob.” Kobi couldn’t help but roll his eyes; he stood next to Sun,  “More like that one there.” Kobi said before pointing to where the house was.

 

Sun followed Kobi’s finger and saw that it was the house that had three stories. Sun looked at it dumbfounded as the group of three stood there in silence. He pointed to them, and back to the house; he only did this for a short time, before Blake and Kobi had finally nodded their heads. Sun’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t help but make an amazed voice from the very thought that it was their home.

 

“Come on.” Blake said to them, “There’s no point in just standing here.”

 

“Okay.” Kobi said.

 

They both descended down the stairs, but realized Sun wasn’t following them since he was still frozen. Kobi let out a groan and went up the stairs, pretty much dragging Sun by the tail.

 

It had only took them a few moments, they found themselves in front of the gigantic doors. Blake and Kobi looked to the door nervously; She went to go knock but was hesitant to do it, while Kobi’s body tensed up. Sun took notice of their nervousness when he saw her ears droopy and the way Kobi acted.

 

“Something the matter?” He asked.

 

Blake had replied, “I--It’s just… It’s been a long time since my brother and I have seen our parents…”

 

Kobi slowly started to back up; Sun and Blake noticed this.

 

He said,  “I just remembered I have something to do so uh--I’ll see you gu-- **AGH!** ”

 

Just before Kobi could sprint away Sun had grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and lifted him a few inches off of the ground. “Come on, don’t chicken out scaredy cat, you’ve already come all this way, just face it like a man.”

 

“I’m really starting to have second thoughts about this!” Kobi said trying to get out of Sun’s grip, “ **AND DON’T CALL ME SCAREDY CAT MONKEY BOY!** ”

 

Blake went over to him, “He’s right Kobi… We’ve already come this far. There’s no sense to turn back now.”

 

Kobi groaned as his ears went droopy again, “Okay fine, whatever you say sis…”

 

With that Sun let go of Kobi and he went next to his sister just in front of the door. Blake took the knob and knocked on the door; It had let out a loud booming sound as she did this which made them jump slightly.

 

“Okay if we’re being honest, that’s kind of intimidating.” Sun said.

 

Just as soon as the knock sound faded, they heard a click sound on the other side and the door opened slightly. There they saw a young woman bearing some resemblance to Blake herself. Though the difference was she had short black hair and her cat ears above her head had three piercings; two on her left and one on her right. She wore a black traditional outfit with one sleeve trimmed and a pair of black hakama pants with matching sandals.

 

Her golden eyes widened when she saw the two young teenagers with cat ears at the top of their heads.

 

“Blake…? Kobi…?” She said with disbelief in her voice.

 

“Hey…” Kobi said with a wave nervously.

 

“Hi mom, we’re back.” Blake said with a nervous smile.

 

The woman, being Blake and Kobi’s mom, placed her hand over mouth, silently gasping before going over to the two of them, putting her arms around the both of them causing the siblings to freeze up.

 

“My dear little babies…” She said as held onto them tightly.

 

“Mom…” Kobi said, his face turning red since he was a little embarrassed at the “baby” remark, but he sucked it up and leaned into his mother’s embrace, putting his arms around her. Blake after a few moments smiled and leaned into the hug, putting her arms around her mother as well.

 

Soon enough a voice belonging to a man came over them; most likely being the father of the two young teens.

 

“Kali? Who is it?”

 

The woman named Kali turned and said, “Ghira! Ghira! It’s Blake and Kobi! Our children have come home!”

 

The three teens looked and saw a tall muscular man; he had black hair and a beard as well and had a pair of golden yellow eyes. He had on a violet jacket that revealed the hair on his chest and had a sash around his waist that matched his jacket. He had on a pair of beige pants with black leather boots and had some kind of shoulder armor and the same silver armor on his abs as well.

 

He almost didn’t believe his wife’s words but soon saw them with his own eyes; his expression changed, and saw them at the door by his wife’s side. Both Blake and Kobi gave a smile to their father, and they silently waved to him.

 

The father, by the name of Ghira smiled back at them,  just as happy as his wife was to see them both.

* * *

 

- **_Later_ ** -

 

Once everything had settled, they had proceeded into the dining area, where they had rested from their travels. Blake and Kobi filled them in on what they were doing since they’ve been away from home; though Kobi kept the fact that he was part of Vale and Beacon’s destruction since he wasn’t ready to tell them. They knew he was in Vale but not the fact he was a part of the destruction. They were shocked to hear some of the stories of course, but still they were just glad to see them back home.

 

“We were horrified when we heard the news.” Kali said to them, “The Kingdom of Vale wasn’t always perfect, but it certainly didn’t deserve what happened. We were both so worried.”

 

“Please, this is our son and daughter we’re talking about!” Ghira said crossing his arms and had a smile, “I knew they would be fine.”

 

Kali scoffed at this, “Oh that isn’t even the slightest bit true. You should’ve seen him pacing.”

 

Kobi rubbed the back of his neck as he didn’t make eye contact; his parents didn’t notice though his sister did. Blake poured a cup of tea and handed over to him. He smiled to her and took the cup, “Thanks.” He said as he started to drink from the cup.

 

Sun had spoken up, “Hey you guys Kobi is able to take care of himself like Blake. I mean I’ve seen her in action, and trust me she’s got some moves!”

 

Blake froze at this while Kobi nearly choked on the tea. “You what!?” Kobi exclaimed.

 

Ghira looked over to Sun, glaring at him,  “And what exactly do you mean by that Mr. Wukong?”

 

Sun looked over to Ghira and realized the look he was giving him. “I--Uh--Well--You see sir it’s just that, she’s a good fighter and all, and uh--as a fellow fighter I have a lot of respect--”

 

“Who the hell does he think he is? Making a move like that on you…” Kobi said through gritted teeth.

 

“Kobi, it’s nothing like that.” Blake said to him calmly.

 

Kali leaned over to Blake, “Why is he here again?”

 

“He just kind of followed us home.” Blake replied.

 

“Ah, I see.” Kali said.

 

“... It’s uh just I mean, she’s slightly above average and uh…” Sun said but he stopped himself when he saw everyone was giving a look, Blake included leaving an awkward silence. Sun used his tail to grab a hold of the teapot and pour the tea in his cup; he took a giant sip from the cup.

 

“This is some really good tea!” Sun said with an embarrassed smile.

 

“I like him.” Kali said to Blake; she turned red, and Kobi double take.

 

“ **MOM!** ” The two siblings exclaimed, with Blake’s face turning red ever so slightly.

 

Before they could make more conversation, they suddenly jumped when there was a knock at the front door; Ghira seemed to know who it was exactly.

 

“Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting.” He said.

 

“Ghira…” Kali said putting her hand over his to calm him down.

 

“Give me a moment.” Ghira said to them; he stood up from his seat and walked towards the front door.  “Meeting?” Kobi said with confusion before asking Kali, “What sort of meeting?”

 

“ Is everything okay?” Blake asked.

 

“Yes dear it’s just poor timing.” Kali replied, “He can reschedule. It’s just been hard dealing with them lately.”

 

“Them?” Kobi asked, “Who do you mean?”

 

Kali took a moment to drink her tea before she answered, “... **_The White Fang_ ** .” Sun, Kobi and Blake’s eyes widened at this; they all stood up at the same time from their seats. “ **WHAT!?** ” The three of them exclaimed; They ran out of the room, and to the front door. There they spotted two men standing just outside, both of them looking exactly the same, having the same outfit, yet one had wolf ears and the other had a wolf’s tail.

 

“ **DAD!** ” Blake yelled.

 

“ **POPS!** ” Kobi shouted after his sister.

 

“Blake, Kobi?” Ghira said, “What’s wrong?”

 

The two of them, their names being, Corsac and Fennec Albain bowed their heads when they saw the two of them.

 

“Young Belladonna, Miss Belladonna.” Corsac said in greeting.

 

“We had no idea you both returned.” Fennec said.

 

“Dad, why are you talking to these people!?” Blake said.

 

“Who are they anyway!?” Kobi said.

 

Ghira replied, “This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie.”

 

“Are you kidding me!?” Sun yelled, “You mean to tell me that those psychos are here too?!”

 

“Young man, I’m not sure what you’ve heard of our organization.” Fennec said, “But I can assure you we’re not nearly as ferocious as the media has to believe.”

 

Blake and Kobi looked at him angrily at this. “What we heard?!” Kobi said, “We didn’t just hear! We saw it with our own eyes!”

 

“We all witnessed what you did!” Blake said, “We all saw first hand in Vale! Your fanatics slaughtered people!”

 

Ghira seemed surprised to hear this; he turned to the two brothers, “What are they talking about?”

 

“It is precisely what we came to discuss with you your Grace.” Corsac replied calmly. Kali came into the room having just having heard the words spoken from their mouths. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Wait you guys seriously don’t know?!” Sun said with disbelief.

 

“Know what…?” Ghira said dangerously.

 

Blake looked to her younger brother Kobi; she saw the look of guilt in his eyes and turned away, his ears having gone down knowing that she had to tell him the truth. Blake took a deep breath before saying, “The White Fang was at the Fall of Beacon. They attacked and they released Grimm into the school. What’s worse… Before all of that, they kidnapped a child, and took her as a hostage! She’s been apart from her family since before the Vytal Festival started!”

 

Kobi’s ears perked up for two reasons. One was he was surprised Blake purposely didn’t include him at the fact he was a part of it’s destruction, but because of the kidnapping of a child.

 

“Are you serious?” Kobi said to Blake, though not really expecting her to answer, “They kidnapped a child? I never knew…”

 

“Is this true?” Ghira said, shocked as Kobi was having heard all of this from his daughter.

 

“Sadly your Grace, it is.” Fennec said.

 

“Don’t act like you--” Blake said before getting cut off by Ghira.

 

“That’s enough!” He said before turning to the brothers, “Explain yourselves.”

 

Corsac soon explained, “Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch is no longer operating under orders from high leader Khan. Rather they’ve elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you’re all too familiar with the young adept and his… **_Extreme philosophies._ ** ”

 

“You know Beacon wasn’t the first time Fang started to shooting up Vale!” Sun said to them.

 

Fennec spoke up, “The High Council had their suspicions about there being a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until it’s latest incident.”

 

“Incident?!” Blake said, “People are dead! And it’s because of the White Fang that same child, my **_friend_ ** has been missing for months!”

 

“And it is a tragedy for both the citizens of Vale and the young girl’s family.” Corsac said.

 

Fennec had said to Ghira, “Your Grace we came here to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do **_not_ ** represent the will of the White Fang.”

 

“How can I be sure of that?” Ghira asked.

 

Corsac replied, “We understand if you bear any skepticism about these claims. The White Fang’s tactics are admittedly more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie. But this… This is no way to make our message heard.”

 

Fennec had added, “We have ample documentation from the council meeting as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you care to review them.”

 

“I will, but another day.” Ghira had eventually replied, “For the time being I’d like to reconnect with my daughter and son.”

 

“But of course.” Corsac said, “We understand.”

 

Fennec turned to the two siblings, “It was a pleasure to see you again Young Blake, Young Kobi.”

 

“We were saddened when heard of your departure and of your brothers.” Corsac said, “But we understand if you both no longer support our cause.”

 

“It is a weary fight after all.” Fennec said.

 

“Who says that we were done fighting?” Blake said.

 

“You shouldn’t write us off just yet.” Kobi said.

 

The two brothers nodded in understanding. Corsac had said to them, “If either of you ever wish to return, you need merely come find us.”

 

Fennec added, “Sister Ilyia would be elated.”

 

“Goodbye gentlemen.” Ghira said.

 

With that being said, Ghira had shut the doors on the brothers, with the sound of the slam echoing. Both Blake and Kobi walked away from their parents and Sun angrily after the conversation they had just had with two members of the White Fang.

 

“So…” Sun started to say awkwardly, “Those guys were creepy.”

 

Ghira turned to Sun and just said one thing, “... I really don’t like you.”  

* * *

 

- **_Three Years Ago_ ** _-_

 

_They were told to go back home by Roman’s doctor, since the visiting hours were over, much to Destiny’s dismay. She didn’t want to leave her dad alone in the hospital, but she didn’t have much choice as Neo carried her away. She soon found herself back home in her room, as Neo helped her remove her backpack, change into her nightwear and tucked her in._

 

_“How come he has to stay there?” Destiny asked Neo, “How come he can’t come back home?”_

 

_Neo had replied as she sat at her bedside, “... It’s because hospitals are required to do so.  Until your dad is strong enough, he’ll have to stay their for the time being.”_

 

_“But I want him home now.” Destiny said._

 

_“I know, I know.” Neo said, “He won’t be staying there forever. It’ll take some time, but he’ll be back home before you know it.”_

 

_“Really?”_

 

_“Is this the face that would lie to you?”_

 

_Neo lightly tickled Destiny’s stomach causing her to giggle slightly. “Now get some sleep.” Neo said, “We’ll go see him tomorrow, okay?”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head slightly and allowed herself to go to sleep, while Neo tip toed towards the door, being careful not to wake her up. Though eventually Destiny found herself waking up about three hours later. She tried and tried to go back to sleep but found it to be useless. She was just still worried about her dad; it was all she thought about. She let out a groan as she buried her face in her hands. Why was she so worried? Neo told her he was going to be alright, that he’ll be back home, so she shouldn’t worry so much. Should she?_

 

_Destiny decided to go and read one of her books to help her sleep. She sat herself up to grab one of the books that sat on the dresser near the vase of flowers, but that’s when she noticed something._

 

_The little tulip she found outside her window was missing._

 

_Destiny jumped out of her bed and started to look around her room for it. It just didn’t make sense to her; how could a flower just disappear, or just get up and walk away. Flowers couldn’t just do that!_

 

_Than again the flower she found appeared to be unnatural._

 

_Right when she was about to give up she felt something under her foot. She looked down and saw that it was the black stem. She tilted her head curiously as to why she saw what appeared to be black mist emitting from the steam. The minute she tried to pick it up, the steam just seemingly vanished without a trace._

 

**_SCRATCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH…_ **

 

_Her attention was drawn over to the window, and there in the dark, she saw a pair of orange eyes that glowed a faint glow. She was shocked as ever to see a little rabbit, but very odd looking. It’s head, behind, back legs and front were black, though on it’s paws and ears had been boney and it’s whole back and stomach had white fur._

 

_Destiny recognized the little rabbit to be Grimm but she never seen that type before in her life or in the books she read._

 

_“Huh?” Destiny said, “...What kind of a--”_

 

_Destiny cut herself off when she saw that in it’s mouth, it was a tulip flower petal with a red eye in the middle; she noticed a faint glow from it._

 

_“How in the world do you have that?” She asked the little rabbit as she went towards the window, “That was on the tulip… Why would you have that?”_

 

_She noticed the little rabbit started to move it’s head, as if to say “Follow me”. Destiny wondered about this before the little rabbit disappeared from the view of the window._

 

_“Hey! Wait!” Destiny called out._

 

_Destiny quickly ran around her room to get the things she needed. Her medicine went in her bag still connected to her chest, and she grabbed a flashlight from within the drawers and extra batteries just in case. The last thing she had gotten was her eyepatch; she put it over her right eye, and made her way to the window. She opened it and crawled onto the fire escape; though she was surprised as ever when she saw the little rabbit waiting at the bottom. She quickly and quietly made her way down, shutting the window behind her before she descended._

 

_When she got to the bottom, the rabbit began to run and she quickly ran after the animal. She tried to keep up the little rabbit though was having trouble doing so since it had run so fast. It made all sorts of twists and turns throughout the streets of Vale. Often at times she lost the rabbit, but it would often appear in her sight again and she would continue to run after the little rabbit._

 

_She didn’t know how long she had been running but by the time she stopped, she found herself in a large open area in the middle of construction. She saw the rabbit go inside a building that was only covered with sheets and metal beams. Despite the sign saying “Caution, Hard Hat area” Destiny followed the rabbit inside. She spotted the rabbit standing in the center of the building waiting for her, with the little petal in it’s mouth._

 

_Destiny walked towards the rabbit finally catching her breath._

 

_“Okay…” She said to the rabbit, “... You got me here… Why did you get me to come here?”_

 

_All the rabbit did was twitch its nose, and tilt it’s head._

 

_“Oh… I guess this is what adults call the silent treatment. Well, I won’t know why you brought me here unless you tell me, or show me at least.”_

 

_All the rabbit did was move its head towards a ladder nearby that lead to what was going to be the basement. Both her and the rabbit moved to the edge, and their Destiny was shocked by what she found. There appeared to be a hole in the ground that was surrounded with caution tapes. Though Destiny heard the wind whistling coming from the inside that told her otherwise. It wasn’t long before she noticed a holo sign just beside the hole._

 

_Destiny looked closely at the holo sign, and saw that it read caution and had the silhouette of a Beowolf._

 

_“That’s a warning sign for Grimm activity.” Destiny said, “... Are Grimm really do--huh?”_

 

_Destiny saw that the little rabbit was gone; though she found the little just beside the hole, and with a leap it jumped inside._

 

 _“_ **_HEY! WAIT!_ ** _” The child yelled._

 

_Destiny quickly went down the ladder and ran over to the hole in the ground but she hesitated to go inside as she heard the wind whistle once more. She heard faint growling coming from inside that sent a shiver down her spine._

 

_She’s heard the stories of Grimm, that they’re all dangerous especially the young ones. She’s seen Grimm before and saw her father and Neo fight them, and she could tell just by watching their ferocious. She even heard the stories about many being eaten by one; and they saw nothing but darkness till they die._

 

_But despite this, she still wondered why the little rabbit wanted to come here to a place like this? With a gulp she kneeled and carefully climbed down the hole in the ground. She was being very careful as she descended further down, as she felt the rocks were slippery and wet, making it harder to climb down._

 

_However, just when her foot was on a rock, it had loosened causing her to lose her grip and cut her hand; she started to fall. Her scream echoed as gravity pulled her towards the ground. She drew ever so closer to the ground and she shut her eyes to prepare herself for the impact. Though instead she felt herself sliding on something suddenly, and she landed on the ground roughly as her body rolled; her eyepatch falling off of her face in the process._

 

_With a groan she slowly brought herself up off of the ground; she took her bag of her back for a moment to get her flashlight and she put it back on her back again. She turned it on that’s when she realized that something was behind her. Slowly she turned around with the flashlight in hand, and soon she found that she was staring face to face with a King Taijitu._

 

_She let out a scream as she dropped the flashlight; she ended up tripping and right before she could fall on the ground the King Taijitu suddenly moved behind her actually catching her which had taken her by surprise._

 

 _“..._ **_You… Alright…?_ ** _”_

 

_Destiny jumped and moved off of the Taijitus body when she suddenly heard a voice. She could swear it came from the Grimm before her._

 

_“You…” Destiny said stunned, “You spoke?”_

 

 _The Taijitu spoke again, “_ **_... You… Alright…?_ ** _”_

 

_Destiny replied hesitantly, “... Ye… Yeah, I’m okay…”_

 

_Destiny looked up to where she fell than looked back at the two headed snake before her. She did this awhile before a certain thought came to her. “Wait… Did… Did you save me?”_

 

_All the Taijitu did was nod it’s heads to answer her question._

 

 _“_ **_... Go… Further…_ ** _” The Taijitu said._

 

_“Further?” Destiny asked, “Where?”_

 

 _“_ **_Into… Caves…_ ** _” The Taijitu said, “_ **_... The Cronan waits… At the… Abyss…_ ** _”_

 

_“Cronan? Do you mean that little rabbit? Wait, the Abyss? What’s the Abyss?”_

 

 _“_ **_... The Cronan waits… At the… Abyss…_ ** _”_

 

_Though Destiny was shocked at the fact the Grimm was taking to her, she hesitantly nodded her head and went to pick up the flashlight; she felt a slight pain in her hand when she went to pick it up. She looked and saw that her left hand she had a fresh cut._

 

_“It must’ve happened when I fell.” She said to herself, “I’ll have to deal with it later, I’ve gotta find that, rabbit, Cronan I mean.”_

 

_She took the flashlight with her other hand and started to go into the caves; though she took a moment to turn back and say, “Thank you, for saving me.” to the King Taijitu._

 

_All the King Taijitu did was nod its heads and curled its body as it covered itself in darkness._

 

_With that, Destiny ran into the caves, being very careful not to trip any of the rocks. Eventually she reached the end of the tunnel and saw the Cronan waiting for her at the other side; she took notice of a scratch that was over its right eye. It must’ve been injured in the fall she thought. She managed to catch up to the Cronan and soon she found herself inside a large rock quarry, that was like a chamber._

 

_She heard a small splash sound not to far from where she stood; she held the flashlight towards where the sound came from and noticed a pool of some sort of black substance. Small rocks fell from the ceiling and into the black substance in front of her creating small ripples._

 

_She and the Cronan made their towards the black pool; Destiny kneeled in front of it._

 

_“Wha… What is this stuff?”_

 

_She looked into the black pool, seeing only a small portion of her reflection she placed her flashlight upward and looked into the pool._

 

_“Is this the Abyss that the Taijitu talked about?... I can actually see why it would call it that… There’s nothing but blackness… Is this supposed to be water…?”_

 

_Destiny lifted her hand and reached out to the pool, but just before her hand could even graze the surface--_

 

 _“ **Don't** _ **_… Touch…!”_ **

 

_Destiny flinched at this and turned to the little rabbit surprised to hear the voice come from it. What she didn’t see was the cut on her she had on her hand, dripped a small drop of her own blood and into the black substance._

 

_Suddenly the red eye on flower petal the Cronan held started to glow a red glow in a certain pattern, and the same red eye appeared in the black pool making Destiny raise to her feet out of shock; the ground around them shook ever so slightly._

 

_“What’s happening!?”_

 

_Soon enough she noticed that the Cronan’s body, particularly its red stripes started to glow as well as its eyes. Giving one last look to the child it jumped into the pool of black, with its petal in it’s mouth; All Destiny did was watch as the rabbit fell in with a splash._

 

_The red eye in the pool glowed more violently causing the ground to shake even more; Destiny fell on her back as this happened; the flashlight that was just next to the pool fell in as well due to the strange tremors. Dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling as the ground shook. After a moment or two the ground and red glow seemed to have fade leaving the child in darkness._

 

_Destiny remained frozen at what had happened, only the sounds of her breathing was heard. Just when she was about to stand she heard a sudden splash. What landed at her feet was her flashlight that was covered in the same black substance, though within seconds it disappeared into black vapor. She was surprised to see that the flashlight still worked; She hesitantly picked it up, as it still faced forward._

 

_“Okay… That’s weird.”_

 

_In the view of the flashlight Destiny couldn’t help but scream she saw a beowolf claw burst out of the pool of black substance._

 

_As it had grabbed onto the ledge, another hand came out, wait a hand? The hands gripped whatever it could and pulled itself up revealing a head and a body and a pair of Nevermore wings, and a tail of a Death Stalker. The body crawled out covered in black substance, but seemed to wash itself off, and the beowolf claw turned into a hand while the wings and tail went into her back._

 

_Destiny saw the black substance disappear revealing a young teenage girl with short black hair, with parts of her hair being colored gray. She wore a black halter top and on her right hand she had on a fingerless and she had on a pair of grey short pants with a pair of red and black boots. She saw on her back she had a mark; a red eye to be exact. When she picked up her head she saw that she had the same orange eye but her right eye it looked blind._

 

 _Though that wasn’t the most surprising part. The most surprising part was,_ **_she had the same face, even the same hairstyle as her_ ** _._

 

_The teenage girl stood up as she groaned in agony._

 

 _“Whew man!” The girl said as she felt her bones crack; she pointed to the pool of black behind her,  “You have_ **_NO_ ** _idea, how much that hurts!”_

 

_“Uhh…” Destiny said just basically stunned by the girl before her._

 

_“I mean jeez, it felt like one of those medieval death traps in there!” She said to Destiny before holding her foot, “I think I might have a cramp! Wow, that’s new I don’t think I ever had cramps before.”_

 

_Destiny slowly stood up when the teenage girl started to look at her own body, feeling her face and legs. “Legs, check, arms check; limbs in pairs not multiple double check.”_

 

_“Uh…” Destiny started to say getting her attention, “... Am I dreaming right now?”_

 

_The girl gave her a really look, and she laughed out loud. “Oh you’re hilarious kid!” The girl said as she ruffled her hair, “Besides I don’t think dreams allow you to bleed in real life.”_

 

_Destiny looked at her bleeding hand than back at her. She ran her hands through her hair, “Okay this is all too freaky! You look exactly like me! Well not exactly like me, but you have my face, and my hair though it’s a different color. And you don’t have the same age as me and not to mention you have--You have--”_

 

_The girl gave her a quizzical and motioned her to continue; the child just kept pointing to her chest. The girl pointed to her own chest and than motioned the words to her. Although all she said was--_

 

_“Those.” She said with an awkward look on her face._

 

_“It’s not those, the correct term is boobs.” The girl said, “Why did you just make a big deal out of it? Your going to have these eventually in your life when you get around this age you know.”_

 

_Destiny just laughed awkwardly at that, but just shook her head just to shake it off. “Okay this all too weird! I must be in a dream, but I can’t be in a dream since you just stated that I can’t bleed in a dream! You look like me! You have my face, but I just don’t know what to--”_

 

 _“Calm down_ **_Princess,_ ** _don’t start freaking out on me.”_

 

_“How can I not freak out when one minute you were a rabbit or Cronan or whatever, or at least I think you were and the next thing I know you--”_

 

_Destiny stopped herself in mid-sentence when she realized something, what the girl had said. “What did you call me?” She said._

 

_The girl seemed confused by it._

 

_“You called me something just now.” Destiny clarified, “What did you call me?”_

 

_“I called you Princess, Princess.” The girl said to her, “Why? Something the matter?”_

 

_“My dad is the only one who calls me that.” Destiny said just in complete and utter shock, “How… Do you know that?”_

 

_The teenage girl kneeled down and put her finger at her forehead, “I think it’s obvious to how I know that.”_

 

_Destiny wondered what she meant by that exactly until she finally put two and two together. “You have my memories?”_

 

_“Not all of them, just some of your most treasured memories.” The girl replied, “Just enough to have my own conscious and mind.” Destiny looked at the girl’s appearance, getting a closer look at her; she felt her left arm as she remembered seeing the Beowolf claw when she emerged from what she assumed was the Abyss._

 

_“I saw with a Beowolf claw, Nevermore wings and a tail…” Destiny said, “And now you look, normal… What are you supposed to be?”_

 

_“It’s simple.” The girl said, “... I’m a Grimm yet I am not. I guess you can say I’m a hybrid.”_

 

_“You’re really a Grimm hybrid?” Destiny said with disbelief, “But that can’t be right. In the books they said a human Grimm hybrid is impossible.”_

 

_“Of course it’s possible Princess. Your one yourself with that eye you got.” The girl said._

 

_Destiny had soon realized that her eyepatch had fallen off her face revealing her orange eye in a pool of black tar; Her body tensed up, as her hand went to cover it. “Oh I get it.” The girl said, “Your one of the shy types about little things like that. Don’t worry kid, I understand.”_

 

_“You know about my eye?” She asked._

 

 _“Of course.” She said before pointing to her own right eye, “I don’t have this blind eye just for nothing you know. Though I have to say, out of all the people I’ve taken form, out of all the people I met… Your the_ **_second_ ** _person I’ve met that has what you have.”_

 

_“Second? Who was the first?”_

 

_“I’ll save that for another day, for now I’d like to start from the beginning.”_

 

_“You mean, you want to know my name? Don’t you know it?”_

 

_“No, my kind when they obtain a form just know about the people around them, not the person themselves. You mind telling me?”_

 

_Destiny let out a sigh and rubbed her elbows slightly, “It’s Destiny. That’s the name my mom and dad gave me.”_

 

_“Destiny huh?” The girl said, “I like it, your parents have good taste in names.”_

 

_“Thanks I guess.” Destiny said, “What about you? Or should I just call you Efah?”_

 

_The girl chuckled slightly as she shook her head, “No, Princess, Efah is just the name of my what I’m based on. It doesn’t mean anything to us when we obtain a form.”_

 

_“You mean to say you don’t have a name?”_

 

_“Nope. Think of me as a newborn baby. I was just brought to life in this world, and yet I am born without an identity. You can call me, whatever you feel most comfortable with, any name you want.”_

 

_“Any name I want?”_

 

_“Any name. You name it, get it?”_

 

_Destiny thought to herself about what she should call the girl before her. This was all considered unbelievable to her, this girl before her, was real, a girl having her face yet not looking exactly like her, it was just hard to believe. People would call her insane if she had said that this was normal to her. She found it hard to believe herself. She tried to think of what to call the girl until a certain name came to the top of her head._

 

 _“How about…_ **_Cristal_ ** _?” Destiny said._

 

_The girl raised her eyebrow at this, “And pray tell, what made you think of that name?”_

 

_“My dad told me, it was my mother’s middle name.” Destiny said with somewhat of a solemn at the thought of her mom, “Do you like it?”_

 

_The girl thought to herself before she smiled at this; she patted her on the head, “Cristal, I like the sound of it. It has a nice ring to it. You’ve got good taste Destiny was it?”_

 

_“So you like it?” Destiny asked._

 

_“I don’t just like it…” The girl now named Cristal said, “... I love it! This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!”_

* * *

 

- **_Present; Higanbana_ ** -

 

“ **_We saw Roman Torchwick in the town's Tavern._ ** _”_

 

**_“We’re not entirely sure if they’re with him, we didn’t see them go in.”_ **

 

 _“_ **_Show me._ ** ”

 

In the Tavern of Higanbana two of the waitresses were helping up closing up. While one cleaned up the tables the other had scrubbed the floors. A few of the other staff stayed behind to close up as well; the bartender was putting away the glasses and sorting out the dirt dishes. It wasn’t before he heard the someone enter the Tavern; three people to be exact.

 

“Sorry, we’re just about to close up.” The bartender said.

 

A girl with red long hair up to her waist and having a vivid green left eye, one by the name of **_Elise_ ** approached the bartender. She wore a black and gray halter dress with her sleeves cut up that was colored with a dark brown color. The man was bit taken back by her.

 

“Sorry I would get you a drink but you look underage.” The bartender said.

 

“I’m not looking to buy a drink.” Elise said taking something from her dress pocket.

 

It wasn’t long till the man felt a needle pierce his neck and he felt drowsy. Right when he was about to fall to the ground, Elise caught him and eased him to the ground of the bar, so that a thump sound wasn’t heard.

 

The girl with orange and magenta shoulder length hair by the name of Diamond approached a man that came in with them. She wore a short red yukata with black cropped leggings, and the red yukata had some black stripes; the sleeves were long and it had covered her arms; Around her waist was a long black ribbon and she wore a pair of black slip on shoes. On her head she had on a black samurai hat.

 

“That’s them.” She said to the man, gesturing over to the two waitresses, “Those were the ones at his table.”

 

The man seemed to have smiled as he approached them along with Diamond and Elise.

 

“Excuse me ladies…” The man said getting the Waitresses attention.

 

The two waitresses looked up to the three of them; the man revealed to be leading them, was none other than **_Tyrian_ **.

 

He licked his lips in a sinister way after letting out a chuckle, “I was hoping you could, help us find someone…”

 

( **_Ending Theme: Soul Eater Ending 2-Style Performed by Nishino Kana_ ** )


	8. The Mirror of Me

- ** _Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_That evening after hours and hours of walking, teams RNJR and CRMS with the help of Roman and Neo had started to set up camp for the night. They were each divided with the series of tasks, each had divided into groups of two. Two were to keep watch, two set up camp, two went to collect firewood, and two were to gather up food since they didn’t have enough rations for everyone._

 

_Ruby and Cristal (Senka followed since he likes to be with Cristal) were set up with the task of collecting food. They had managed to find a lake nearby where they could fish. It wasn’t too far from camp and the water was as clear as anyone could see. Cristal peered into the lake and saw all the fishes swimming._

 

_“Holy hell! We’ve hit ourselves the mother load!” Cristal said, “There’s enough fish in here for everyone!”_

 

_Cristal turned to Ruby but noticed her expression; she looked like she was in a daze as she stared down at her feet. “Ruby?” Cristal said, Ruby not hearing her at first, “Ruby!”_

 

_Finally Ruby snapped out of her daze and looked up at her. “Huh? Oh sorry!” Ruby said, “I wasn’t listening. What were saying?”_

 

_“I was just saying that there was enough fish to feed everyone.” Cristal said brushing off on how Ruby had acted before, “See for yourself.”_

 

_Ruby walked next to Cristal and peered into the river like she did. “Wow that is a lot of fish.” Ruby said merely amazed._

 

_“I know right? Help me make some fishing rods to catch these suckers. The faster we catch them, the faster we’ll have ourselves a meal.”_

 

_“O-okay.”_

 

_Cristal and Ruby went to find strong enough branches which wasn’t all that difficult, to be honest. After they had gotten some string and bait, they went to fishing. It had already been two days since Ruby found the photograph that had supposedly been lost when Destiny went missing. All she got were more questions than answers. Destiny was the only one in possessions of that photograph, as well as three others. It just didn’t make the lick of sense to her; why would Cristal have a picture like that with her?_

 

_Ruby had been skeptical since she first looked at Cristal but really why wouldn’t she be? She had the child’s face, her friends face and she couldn’t even find an answer to that. All the questions just kept rising and rising and it confused her all the more. It’s already bad enough as it is when Destiny had told her and her friends that she could understand Grimm, let alone calm them that’s in a fit of rage; she still had so many questions as to how she could even perform it in the first place, now she was dealing with her own thoughts on Cristal._

 

_True, her own teammates seem like they trust her, even Roman and Neo, but herself, and her friends, still felt skeptical about her. They have been traveling for weeks thus far and yet she had not once talked about herself. Rosario and Scout have been more than willing to talk about themselves, but Cristal on the other hand mostly kept silent; Ruby couldn’t understand as to why. Than she thought back to her friend that she had mentioned earlier; she couldn’t help but wonder who her friend was exactly and as to who had taken her friend._

 

_Like Ruby had thought, this had raised more questions than it did answer._

 

_It wasn’t long till she noticed Cristal had gotten distracted by something; it only took her a few moments before she had realized that she was looking at the sunset, watching as the light had reflected on the water._

 

_“It really is a sight to behold isn’t it?” Cristal said to Ruby not making eye contact._

 

_“Yeah.” Ruby said looking at the sunset, “You don’t get views like this back in Patch.”_

 

_Cristal cracked a smile, “I always like looking at views like this. It always feels different everytime you look at it.”_

 

_“It’s just an ordinary sunset.”_

 

_“No, not to me it isn’t. It’s never the same no matter how many times you see it, no matter where you are or where you go. There is always this sadness to it that I can’t help but admire.”_

 

_Ruby looked at Cristal with confusion at this. “They leave behind things but at the same time they don’t. They leave behind marks that disappear when it does do completely. It’s just the way things are for sunsets. Something so beautiful yet tragic. Makes me think about myself really, of how tragic my life is.”_

 

_Ruby’s expression seemed to have saddened when she saw the way Cristal’s eyes were, despite having only one blind eye._

 

_“I know you have it.” Cristal said taking Ruby by surprise._

 

_“Huh?” Ruby said, “Have what?”_

 

_“Her picture.” Cristal clarified, “Our Day at Forever Falls. I know you have it.”_

 

_Ruby set the fishing rod to the side and took out the picture from her dress pocket and took a moment to look at it. “You have question to why I have Destiny’s picture right?” Cristal said, “And I don’t blame you. This strange teenage girl that you just met has a picture that only she could have, I would ask questions too.”_

 

_“Yeah…” Ruby said, “Having questions is the right way to put it. I thought these pictures were lost when Destiny went missing, and yet you have this.”_

 

_“That’s not the only picture I have.” Cristal said._

 

_Ruby gave a quizzical to Cristal at this; it wasn’t long till she took out two more pictures from her jacket, and placed it on the rock just between them. One was of ten year old Destiny and her father, that she and her friends discovered who was lucky enough to be her dad, though the third picture was what intrigued her. It was of Destiny and Cristal herself, in front of a mirror. Destiny had peeked behind from the camera while Cristal stood behind her making bunny ears; though Ruby noticed she wore a different outfit within the photo. She had on a black halter top and a pair of gray short pants with a pair of red boots._

 

_“What is…” Ruby said, “Why are you guys in front of a mirror…?”_

 

_“Maybe this might answer it.” Cristal said, “... Do you remember back in Vale, when Destiny mentioned now and than on certain things?”_

 

_“Wait how do you--”_

 

_“Please, just answer it.”_

 

_“Yeah, I remember. She would mention it every now and than when we told her certain things.”_

 

_Cristal sighed and stared down at the pictures, particularly one to herself and Destiny. Ruby looked at it as well, but soon a thought had come over her. “Wait you mean--” Ruby said pointing to the third picture._

 

_“See for yourself.” Cristal said motioning her to flip the picture._

 

 _Ruby looked to Cristal than back to the picture; hesitantly she flipped the picture over. There she saw in Destiny’s handwriting had read, “_ **_My Friend and Me._ ** _”_

 

_Ruby’s eyes widened slightly and her jaw dropped; she slowly looked up to Cristal, her eyes meeting hers._

 

 _“You’re…_ **_the friend_ ** _?” Ruby said with disbelief, “The friend she always mentioned…?”_

 

_Cristal nodded, “I am. And Destiny is the one I’m looking for, like how you and your friends are.”_

 

_“You mean to tell me she’s not actually missing?” Ruby asked, “You mean to say she was actually taken?”_

 

_“Yes, and yes to both of your questions.” Cristal said, “I was waiting to tell you Ruby, but I just didn’t how to say it without you just jumping the gun.”_

 

_Ruby had said, “Please, you have to tell me everything, no more secrets!”_

 

_“Are you sure you want to know?” Cristal asked her, “You may not like what you hear.”_

 

_“I’m friends with a girl that talks to Grimm, and calm them.” Ruby said, “Please I have to know.”_

 

_Cristal nodded her head, “Than I’ll tell you everything. I wanted you to hear this first anyway. After I tell this story you can choose whether or not to tell your friends.”_

 

_“Of course I will. Like I said, no more secrets.” Ruby said, “Go on, I’m listening.”_

 

_Cristal let out a sigh and started to tell her story, “Destiny didn’t always know she could talk to Grimm, and calm one. In fact before she met you before she was involved I should say… she was just kid, who thought she had a curse. That was up until three years ago. Back than, she was just like as she said. She was alone, she didn’t have anyone to talk to, no one that understood where she came from; What she was going through. Most days she spent her life in isolation, since Roman, as you can understand, had very little trust in people. But, one day she found a little flower just sitting outside her bedroom window. It wasn’t just any flower though. The flower was of Grimm.”_

 

_“A Grimm based flower?” Ruby said, “But… That’s impossible.”_

 

_“It is very real, trust me.” Cristal said before she continued, “The flower is called the Efah. Though it is unclear to when exactly this flower appears or even how it comes to be, the only thing you need to know is, that it’s very rare, and she ended up finding it.”_

 

_“Well, what does it do?” Ruby asked._

 

_“You may find this hard to believe…” Cristal said, “But the Efah Destiny had found is capable of creating a living person. Not just any person, but a Grimm Hybrid.”_

 

_Ruby just stared in disbelief at that, just in complete and utter shock at that. A flower able to create a person? That’s just… Well impossible._

 

_“I…” Ruby said, “I don’t understand.”_

 

_“It’s exactly like I said.” Cristal said, “The flower is capable of creating a person. It takes five stages to do so. The first stage is, the Efah needs aura and the memories you treasure most. It doesn’t need a lot of aura, but only enough to know who the person is. It’s the same with the memories you treasure; it needs only enough to have their own mind and conscious. The only thing is, they would only know about the people around them and not the person’s face they take for themselves. The second stage is when the flowers start to wilt. When they start to wilt, they are able to take form, but in the form the person's spirit animal, and they’re only five petals that need to do that. The six and last petal is the only one that doesn’t change; it’s what you would call a heart and mind. The third stage is it has travel to what Grimm call the Abyss.”_

 

_“The Abyss? What’s the Abyss?”_

 

_“The Abyss, is where the Grimm come from. It doesn’t necessarily have a name from a person's point of view, but the Grimm call it that and to be fair it’s appropriate. The spirit animal, otherwise known as the Cronan, travels to the where the Abyss is; they have to take the last petal there with them to turn into the person. The fourth is no surprise, they need the person‘s blood in order to complete the form; All it takes is a single drop. The fifth and final is, the Cronan, has to jump into the Abyss when a red eye appears. Once all these five stages are done, that person will form.”_

 

_Ruby found this all hard to believe honestly. The fact that their was a plant type Grimm, the fact that people, Grimm Hybrids were actually made from these flowers. It was just insane to even think of that such a thing exists. Than again she is friend with a literal Child of Grimm, and she bared no mind to it. She couldn’t believe she heard such a thing from her._

 

_“How…” Ruby started to ask, “How do you know something like that?”_

 

 _Cristal had answered hesitantly, “The reason why I know this…_ **_Is because I’m one of them_ ** _…”_

 

_Once again, her eyes, widened with disbelief, “Your… Your what…?”_

 

 _“When the people…_ **_The Shadows_ ** _are formed, they have a mark on their body, as a reminder that we are Hybrids, that we are just Shadows.” Cristal said as she started to turn around, “I was made three years ago, and I’ve had the mark since.”_

 

_With her back turned to Ruby, she started to unzip her jacket. Than she let it slide off her shoulders catching it in her elbows, and Ruby’s eyes widened for the third time today. There in the middle of the back was a red eye, with only half of it covered in bandages, that had also wrapped around her chest. Ruby placed her hand over her mouth, as she took it all in._

 

_“Most people are born, and I’m one of the only few that was made.” Cristal said, as she slipped her jacket back on, zipping it up, “Now a days I just hide this red eye, from others and myself. Though than again, what I’ve been through the past three years and eight months ago, I guess I’ll just be nothing more than a Shadow.”_

 

_Ruby looked at her, confused by this, why she would say eight months ago. It was than she had put it all together._

 

_“You mean, you were there?” Ruby asked, “At Beacon? After we found Destiny? During the Vytal Festival?”_

 

 _“I was.” Cristal said turning back to her, “_ **_You just didn’t see me._ ** _”_

 

 _Before Ruby could ask, Cristal cut her off by saying, “It’s a single rule that_ **_she_ ** _put on me from the moment I was made, since she knew I wouldn’t be one to take orders. The rule was, I was never to be seen, never to be heard by anyone when Destiny’s eyes stayed open; I was literally invisible where ever I was, when Destiny stayed awake. I guess you can call it more like a curse for me really. For all my life I was literally leaving in the shadows. But the rule only works, if Destiny is in close proximity with me.”_

 

_Cristal looked at Ruby’s face, just in complete and utter dismay about what she just heard._

 

_“It sounds pretty crazy right?” Cristal said with a shrug._

 

_“No… Actually…” Ruby said with a smile, “That explains a lot! The window in our dorm room being opened by none of us, the TV being turned off even though we all went to sleep, and than that shadow figure that Blake saw… That was all you!”_

 

_“You certainly sound surprised.” Cristal said jokingly with a smile._

 

_“Trust me I’ve heard crazier things.” Ruby said, “Crazy things that I’d never thought I believe, but you know what, I’m not one to judge.”_

 

_The two girls couldn’t help but laugh with one another; though their attention was soon drawn when they Ruby’s fishing rod started to bend back and forth._

 

_“Oh hey you got a bite!” Cristal said._

 

_Ruby let out a small scream and quickly grabbed onto the fishing rod, though she was struggling to reel the fish in. Cristal immediately went to helping her out and they were struggling to get the fish in. Though after several attempts they managed to grab a hold of the fish._

 

_“Whoo man, you got a big one!” Cristal said._

 

 _Ruby cheered at this, “_ ** _YAY! THIS IS AMAZING! WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A FEAST TONIGHT!_ ** _”_

 

_“Hey, hey come on, let’s not get carried away.” Cristal said, “I can get a bigger fish than you!”_

 

_“Oh you’re so on!” Ruby said with determination._

 

_Putting the fish in a container nearby, they went back to fishing, and they caught enough to feed them for the next coming weeks._

* * *

 ( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_** )

 

**_I’ve just gotten word from the Mistress; she has changed assignments for you and you only. Keep an eye on the Heiress in Atlas, make sure the child hasn’t contacted her yet…_ **

 

**_And if she has already?_ **

 

 **_Than kill her; leave no witnesses._ **

_-_ ** _Present; Atlas_** -

 

**_I’m not your pet, not another thing you own._ **

**_I was not born guilty of your crimes._ **

**_The riches and your influence can’t hold me anymore._ **

**_I won’t be possessed, burdened your royal test._ **

 

**_I will not surrender, this life is mine._ **

 

Everyone had gathered in the ballroom after the concert was done. Most of the people around had chatted with one another while eating or drinking whatever the waiters had brought to them. Weiss however wasn’t really enjoying herself since she had to spend most of it staying by her father's side as did the twins, Van and Nilla. Weiss wore a long dress with sleeves and blue diamonds while Van and Nilla wore simple dresses. Van wore a blue dress with a white ribbon around the waist and the Schnee insignia while Nilla wore the same thing but her dress was white and she had a blue ribbon around her waist. Van twiddled her thumbs while Nilla messed around with the ribbon on her dress.

 

“I swear this thing is trying to kill me.” Nilla said as she undid her ribbon that was tied just at the side.

 

“Come on Nilla quit messing with that.” Van said to her softly not wanting to get the attention of their father as he was chatting.

 

“I can’t help it, you know I don’t like wearing dresses.” Nilla said to her twin, “It’s so… painful to wear.”

 

“This is supposed to be a social gathering, and you have to dress appropriately for it.” Van said, “You know that.”

 

“Well I think there should be a change in dress code.” Nilla said with a pouty face when she couldn’t get the ribbon tied up right.

 

Weiss couldn’t help but laugh slightly as she rolled her eyes. Nilla had always been a tomboy since she and Van were born. She never wore dresses even when she was at home in their mansion. Her father had always told Nilla to wear something more appropriate but it’s not like she ever listened to him. It just proved that she was more of a rebel.

 

Weiss kneeled and got Nilla’s attention. “Come on, it’s only just for this one night.” She said as she went to fix her ribbon, “Just be glad this event is for a good cause.”

 

“Weiss we’re bored.” Van said, “Do we have to stay by father's side all night?”

 

“Unfortunately so.” Weiss said.

 

“We wanna do something Weiss. Something that doesn’t just involve standing around and doing nothing.” Nilla said.

 

“What do you wanna do?” Weiss asked.

 

Van and Nilla both looked around the room wondering what they should do exactly. It wasn’t long till they spotted a large painting just at the end of the room. “Can we go see that painting?” Van said.

 

“Yeah Weiss can we?” Nilla said.

 

Weiss looked over to the painting only taking a moment to realize what the painting was of. She turned back to the twins. “Alright.” Weiss said to them, earning a smile from each of them. Just as they were about to go they were soon stopped by Jacques when he said, “Just where do you think you three are going?”

 

Weiss quickly thought of an excuse, “Van and Nilla are thirsty, I was going to get them a drink.”

 

“Yes, we’re just perched father.” Nilla said adding on to Weiss’s excuse and Van nodded.

 

“Sweetheart we have people for that.” Jacques said to Nilla. He was about to motion for a waiter but Weiss had stopped him when she grabbed his forearm.

 

“No, I can get it for them.” Weiss said, “We’ll be right back. I promise.”

 

With that the three of them went over to where the painting was. There the twins got a good look at the painting; it was of what Beacon looked like before Grimm and the White Fang had invaded it. Van and Nilla couldn’t help but look at it with awe.

 

“Wow…” Van said leaning against the railing that was provided, “It’s beautiful…”

 

“Is that what Beacon looked like Weiss?” Nilla asked.

 

“Yeah…” Weiss said feeling nostalgia to it, “Though it’s better if you see it in person.”

 

Van and Nilla looked at one another before looking back to their sister, “Do you think… Beacon will be repaired soon?” Nilla asked.

 

“I really want to see it now!” Van said.

 

Weiss sighed and patted them both on their heads, “The repairs will take time. But when they get it done, I’ll take you both to see it.”

 

Both of the twins smiled at this, excited at the thought of it. Though it wasn’t long until they realized that they were approached by a young teen. “It’s beautiful. You two match.” He said to Weiss, while the twins looked perplexed at this. Weiss just gave a certain look to him as she turned her attention back to the painting.

 

Weiss said to him as she crossed her arms, “Yes, it’s a lovely painting.”

 

The teen said to her, “So that was my attempt at breaking the ice. How am I doing so far?”

 

Weiss let out a sigh, “You are leaving a lot to be desired.”

 

“Well I’ve always appreciated honesty.” He said, before introducing himself while offering a hand to her, “I’m Henry. Henry Marigold.” Van and Nilla looked to the teen named Henry than back to Weiss wondering what she would do exactly. Weiss took his hand as she said, “Weiss Schnee.”

 

“I know, I saw your performance.” Henry said before clearing his throat, “Obviously. You were wonderful. And I promise I’m not just saying that because you’re pretty.”

 

Weiss rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the painting.

 

“Honesty remember?” Henry said turning to the painting, “So, you thinking of buying it?”

 

Weiss replied, “No, I don’t think so.”

 

“Yeah, it’s kind of pricey for a painting.” Henry said.

 

“What are you talking about?” Van asked, “This painting is for a charity.”

 

“Yeah, it’s to help raise money.” Nilla had added.

 

“Oh.” Henry said, “What’s it for?”

 

Weiss, Van and Nilla’s eyes widened at this, just shocked to hear that come out of his mouth. “For what?” Weiss said with a look of disgust.

 

All Henry did was laugh at this, “I’ll admit I only come to these events for the food and the drinks…” He took a drink off of the tray as a waiter had passed by, “... And the extraordinary company. Of course. So what is this for? Another Mantle Fundraiser?”

 

“How can you say that?!” Van said with an angry look.

  
“Yeah, like seriously! Are you just braindead?!” Nilla said to Henry with an equal look on her face.

 

“Wow, hey come on, I didn’t say--” Henry started to say before getting cut off.

 

“Get out.” Weiss said to Henry with a glare as she stood in an aggressive stance.

 

“Uh, what?”

 

“Get out, or I will have security escort you out.”

 

“But I didn’t say anything--”

 

“Leave!”

 

Henry was taken back by the look Weiss was giving to him. He gave a look to Weiss, before saying, “Whatever.” With that he took his leave.  “Good riddance to ya!” Nilla said.

 

“Who does he think he is?” Van said, “I mean Mantle? Really? Did nobody tell him what this event is for? They have the painting right here!”

 

“Maybe he’s just too blind in his money to see it.”

 

The three of them were startled by a new voice that had come over them. They turned to see a young girl just about Weiss’s age standing before them. She had long orange hair that was tied into a ponytail, and most of her bangs covered her right eye, while her left beard a black diamond eye. She wore a asian style long dress that was white and had long sleeves with red at the bottom of her shirt and sleeves; there was black in the middle that was held together with buttons. She also had a long skirt that had covered her feet.

 

“Forgive me, but I couldn’t help but overhear.” The girl said to Weiss in particular.

 

“It’s okay.” Weiss said to the girl as she looked away.

 

“Your not here to ask what this event is about to aren’t you?” Van asked.

 

“No, of course not.” The girl said, “It really is kind of your father to raise money for the kingdom of Vale and it’s school. It is a tragedy to what happened to it.”

 

Weiss finally turned to the girl, “At least we can agree on something.”

 

“It’s guys like him I truly despise most.” The girl said to Weiss,  “Not seeing the big picture to what had happened. They’re just blind as any bat.”

 

“These people just don’t get it.” Van said, “They’re weren’t there like Weiss was, so they don’t know.”

 

“Yeah!” Nilla said, “Again, they have a painting just right here in plain sight!”

 

“Yes and I agree with the both of you on that.” The girl said, “Talking to people like this is like talking to a brick wall.”

 

Weiss soon gave an odd look to the young girls direction; she took notice of this, “Is something the matter?”

 

“No it’s just that… I’m sorry you just have a familiar look.” Weiss said to her.

 

The girl chuckled at this, “I get that a lot, but where my manners I forgot to introduce myself…”

 

She held out her hand to Weiss before introducing herself, “... My name is **_Azure_ **. It’s a pleasure to meet you Weiss Schnee. You gave a lovely performance.”

 

Weiss took her hand and shook it, “The pleasures all mine, and thank you.”

 

Just than their attention was drawn when a voice just seemed to have cut through the crowd; the four of them looked to a woman with blonde hair wearing a dark dress and having violet eyes talking to her husband.

 

“But really is it really surprising what had happened to Vale? It was a long time coming if you ask me.”

 

“Honey, keep your voice down…”

 

“What? You said the same thing last night. If they’re so arrogant to think that they can get by without proper kingdom defenses, then I say good riddance.”

 

“ **SHUT UP!** ” Weiss had suddenly yelled. Everyone had gone silent, even the music had stopped. Their attention was drawn to Weiss’s sudden outburst; Jacques looked over in her direction. Van and Nilla were left just stunned while the girl, Azure herself, didn’t seem to be phased, surprisingly.

 

“ **YOU DON’T HAVE A CLUE!** ” Weiss continued to yell, “ **NONE OF YOU DO!** ”

 

“Excuse me?” The woman said.

 

“ **YOU’RE ALL JUST STANDING AROUND TALKING ABOUT NOTHING!** ” Weiss exclaimed, “ **WORRYING ABOUT YOUR HAIR, YOUR MONEY, YOUR STUPID PROBLEMS THAT DON’T MEAN ANYTHING!** ”

 

“Weiss…” Van and Nilla both said with concern.

 

“Well this is a shock.” Azure said calmly.

 

Before Weiss could say anything more, Jaques came to them, grabbing Weiss by her arm, “Weiss that’s enough!” He said.

 

“Let go of me!” Weiss said, as she tried to shake herself out of his grip.

 

“You’re embarrassing the family.” He said.

 

“I said let me go!” Weiss said as she fought back harder.

 

Van and Nilla grabbed their father's arm as they tried to loosen his grip on her, “Father stop!” Van pleaded.

 

“You’re hurting her! Let her go!” Nilla said.

 

With a harsh tug, Weiss was sent to hurdling to the floor. Though Azure was able to catch her a glyph had soon manifested itself. Everyone jumped at the sight of a Boarbatusk that appeared from the circle. It let out a roar, as it charged at the woman and husband.

 

“ **PLEASE, I’M SORRY!** ” The woman screamed, “ **I’M SORRY, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!** ”

 

The Boarbatusk leaped high into the air, as it went to attack, but it was soon shot out of the air. It turns out it was none other than Jame Ironwood that had killed the Boarbatusk. It had vanished into white vapor instead of black, and the glyph beside Weiss disappeared.  

 

Van and Nilla immediately went to their sister's side, and helped her off the ground as did Azure.  

 

“Are you okay?” Van asked.

 

“That was really scary.” Nilla said.

 

“I-I’m fine.” She reassured the twins, “Don’t worry about me.”

 

“ **ARREST HER!** ” They heard the woman shout to Ironwood, “ **SHE’S INSANE! SHE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!** ”

 

Ironwood looked over to Weiss, before saying, “She’s the only one making sense around here.” This had surprised everyone in the room, Jacques and Weiss included. Ironwood turned to Jacques, “Thanks for the party Jacques.”

 

Ironwood took his leave, and Jacques glared over at Weiss. Everyone was left unaware that Azure was clenching the right side of her face like she was in pain. Voices went around her head, speaking to her as if. She shushed the voices gently as a way to comfort them.

 

“ **_Cleac, Daegal_ ** , it’s alright...” She whispered not drawing anyone's attention, “... It’ll be alright… I know it hurts, just bear with the pain, and I promise it’ll be over…”  

* * *

 - ** _Sometime Ago_** -

 

_The whole group sat around the fire and had eaten dinner, after the fishes were cleaned and gutted. Cristal along with Ruby told the others the whole story about herself, about what Cristal was made of, where she had come from exactly and why she possessed the face of their little friend._

 

_Jaune was the first one to speak, “That’s wow… So this whole time, your actually a Grimm Hybrid, like a real one?”_

 

_“Yeah.” Cristal said, “It’s pretty crazy I know.”_

 

_“Hard to believe that you came from a flower.” Nora said._

 

_“Though it does explain as to why you have Destiny’s face.” Ren said._

 

_“We found it hard to believe when we heard it to.” Melody said._

 

_Ruby did a double take over in team CRMS direction. “Wait a second, you mean to say that you knew?”_

 

_“Yeah.” Scout said, “A leader is never one to keep secrets.”_

 

_“That and I find it hard to believe myself.” Rosario said, “And I’m supposed to be her partner.”_

 

_“How come you guys didn’t tell us?” Jaune asked._

 

_“It’s because she told us not too.” Rosario replied, “Cristal wanted to be able to tell you herself.”_

 

_“What next your going to tell us that Roman knows that Cristal is a shadow too?” Nora said jokingly. Nora laughed out loud , as the rest of the group (Team RNJR) seemed to have laughed along with her. Though it wasn’t long till Ruby looked over in Roman’s direction who had just stood there so casually. Everyone slowly stopped laughing as the group looked towards where Roman and Neo stood. “You know too don’t you?” Nora said with an awkward smile._

 

_“Yup.” Roman said getting rid of the cigar from his mouth._

 

_“Wait, you know too?!” Ruby exclaimed, “When did she tell you?!”_

 

_“I didn’t tell him.” Cristal said, “He ended up finding out three years ago, when he saw me accidently, boy was that awkward.”_

 

_“Tell me about it.” Roman said with a slight chuckle._

 

_“Okay, I guess we’ll be told about this later.” Jaune said with awkwardness._

 

_“Yeah…” Ruby said, before asking Cristal, “Hey can I ask you a question?”_

 

_“Sure.” Cristal said, “What is it?”_

 

_“Before when you were telling me about yourself…” Ruby said, “You said she… Were you talking about Cinder?” The whole group had gone silent; team CRMS looked at one another and they nodded to each other. It was only than Cristal had replied, “No.”_

 

_This left team RNJR perplexed at this. Even Roman and Neo were confused. “No?” Roman said, “What do you mean no?”_

 

_“I mean no, it wasn’t her that put the rule on me.” Cristal said, “Sure Cinder is strong, but she isn’t exactly powerful to put the rule on me, and to add… She’s not the one behind the attack on Vale and Beacon.”_

 

_Everyone’s jaws dropped at this just by the sound of it. Cinder is not the one behind the attack on Vale and Beacon, that was just unbelievable. “Wait, Cinders not the one behind it?” Ruby said, “But she planned the whole thing, she was in control of the White Fang!”_

 

_“True…” Cristal said, “But really think about it, she couldn’t have done it all without some kind of help.”_

 

_“But, if Cinder wasn’t the one who planned it all out, than… Who was is?” Nora asked._

 

_“Unfortunately, I can’t say…” Cristal replied, “... Like I really can’t.”_

 

_“Why can’t you?” Jaune asked._

 

_“Actually we’ve been wondering that ourselves for awhile.” Melody said, “I mean when you told us about this information you couldn’t say who was really behind it; you mind telling us why exactly?”_

 

_Cristal took a deep breath and said, “You know how I said when we’re formed, we’re marked with a red eye? Well, there’s more to it than that. The red eye, that is marked on us, not only symbolizes who we are, but it also forms a contract. It’s literally given to us when we’re made.”_

 

_“What’s the contract about?” Ren asked him._

 

 _“It’s called the_ **_Contract of Silence_ ** _.” Cristal explained, “It’s been forgotten for years, so it’s unlikely that you’ve heard it in the stories and fairytales. The contract forbids me to not speak about her, to where she’s from, what her life was, or where she was born. Hell, I can’t even say her name without consequence.”_

 

_“What happens if you break it?” Neo asked._

 

_Cristal simply replied with a shrug, “... She’ll kill me, and the ones that I give the information to. It’s how the Contract of Silence works. We take in exchange for our own lives.”_

 

_Of course the group was very shocked to hear that from Cristal, even her own team was put into a state of shock. “That’s just, intense…” Scout said with a look of disbelief._

 

_“So… If you were to say anything… Than she would have us all killed?” Jaune asked._

 

_“Unfortunately that’s the way the contract is.” Cristal answered, “You can understand why it’s been forgotten.”_

 

_Roman soon said, “... This person that you’re talking about… Is she the one behind Destiny’s disappearance?”_

 

_“Yes.” The lookalike said, “Though I can’t say her name, but I can tell you this… The one that took Destiny, is the same one that killed your wife and infected your child with Grimm.” Ruby saw Roman’s anger through his eyes and he had gritted his teeth just at thought of the one responsible for infecting Destiny with Grimm when she was but a baby. Neo went to comfort him, as her eyes changed color._

 

_“Do you at least know where this person took her?” Ruby asked, “I mean you have to at least know where right?”_

 

_Cristal stayed silent at this answer, but only looked away. “You can’t say that either, can’t you?” Rosario asked._

 

_“I don’t mean to withhold this kind of information.” Cristal said, “But it’s the only way to keep you all safe. On this journey I’m hoping to not only to find Destiny, but to kill the woman responsible for putting this contract on me and the others. The Contract of Silence only works as long as the person is alive, therefore if we kill her, we can finally be free from her.”_

 

_They all gave a quizzical look to this. “Others? You mean they’re other Shadows? Like you?” Ren asked._

 

 _“It’s true.” Melody said, “Scout and I encountered two of them before our team was formed_ **_*_ ** _.”_

 

 _(_ ** _*This is a reference to the Team CRMS short stories, in both Melody and Scouts story_ ** _)_

 

_“All we know is that they have the same red eye as her, the only difference is their’s is visible.” Rosario said._

 

_“How many of them are there?” Roman asked._

 

_“As far as we know, they’re two of them.” Scout said._

 

_Cristal added,  “We don’t know if there’s more out there and if they’re even working with her. All we know is that they’re two. One has Destiny’s face like me, the other… Is different. Most likely if they’re others she’s the only one that’s different.”_

 

_“Different?” Jaune said, “Different how?”_

 

_“I… Don’t know if we should tell you.” Scout said as her ears went down, “It’s hard to believe really.”_

 

_“What do you mean hard to believe?” Ruby asked._

 

_“It’s hard to believe because of the face she possessed. I caught a good look at her trust me.” Rosario said_

 

_Senka went by Cristal’s side and nuzzled his beak with her face, letting out some soft growls as if it was speaking to her; Cristal placed her hand on his beak as she slowly patted him. “What’s he saying?” Nora asked._

 

 _Cristal didn’t answer Nora’s question, instead, she said to the group specifically team RNJR, “I don’t know when this will happen, but the Shadows, my sisters you can call them will be coming after us most likely being lead by one of_ **_her_ ** _lackeys. When they do, promise--No swear to me, no matter who’s face you see, you’ll fight like you’ve always had. You’ll fight for your life.”_

 

_Team RNJR looked at each other before turning back to Cristal, “That’s kind of a strange thing to say when you think about it.” Nora said._

 

_“Just swear to me you’ll do this, alright?” Cristal said._

 

_Once again team RNJR had exchanged looks to one another. “We swear it.” Ruby said to Cristal._

 

_“Yeah, don’t worry, we swear that we will.” Jaune said._

 

_“Good…” Cristal said, “Than we’re all good.”_

 

_After eating their dinners they all decided to hit the hay. Senka made himself a bedding and laid down on his stomach and Cristal went to lean against him; she made herself comfortable against him. “... I feel guilty for not telling them about her.” Cristal said to Senka._

 

_He growled, speaking to her._

 

_“I know, I know it was for their own good.” Cristal said, “They wouldn’t even believe me if I said it right than and there. But when they see her face, it’ll be worse and it’s going to be harder to explain.”_

 

_Senka growled again to her._

 

_“Yeah, I know the term, actions speak louder than words. And that it’s better for them to understand when they see her. I just don’t know how they’ll react… Look I’ll worry about it later, let’s just get some sleep.”_

 

_Senka growled again._

 

_“Oh hahaha your hilarious.”_

 

_Cristal leaned against Senka’s body and he bought his wing over her body, as his neck curled against her legs. After just a few moments, Cristal had fallen asleep, mentally making a note on an explanation when the time comes.”_

* * *

  _-_ ** _Present; Somewhere in Anima_** _-_

 

The group found themselves walking along the path that was provided for them, after their stay at the town's inn. Roman was glad to be back in his normal attire once they left the town, though they still saved the clothing just in case they had a need for it again ( ** _Much to Roman’s dismay_** ). The group walked side by side along with Senka, and Frosty was just hanging out on his back ( ** _Much to Senka’s dismay_** ).  

 

Scout stretched her arms as she inhaled the air, “Ah, the smell of the fresh air. This weather is so much better than it was yesterday.”

 

“Yup!” Nora said with a big smile, “Another day, another adventure!”

 

“What’s on the agenda today?” Ruby asked as she put her hands together.

 

“Walking!” Jaune said while he was holding the map, with Rosario reading it along with him, just to make sure they were going the right way.

 

“With a side of…” Nora said as she pretended to beat a pair of dreams.

 

“More walking.” Ren, Melody, Roman and Neo said at the same time.

 

“Maybe a picnic on the side, but other than that, it’s just more walking.” Neo said as she twirled her umbrella in her hand.

 

Ruby couldn’t help but slouch over as she made a pouting look.

 

“Something the matter Ruby?” Cristal asked.

 

“It’s just that Haven is so much further away than I thought.” Ruby said.

 

“Ruby?” Ren said walking beside her, “How long did you think this journey was going to take?”

 

“You didn’t this was going to be quick did you Red?” Roman had asked her.

 

Ruby let out a groan as she said, “I don’t know okay?! I grew up in Patch and it’s considered small! I’ve never been this far from home!”

 

“Yeah, but… How long?” Jaune asked.

 

“Um…” Ruby said before saying with an awkward smile, “Two weeks?”

 

“ **WHAT!?** ” Jaune exclaimed.

 

“ **OKAY, FINE THREE WEEKS!** ” Ruby yelled.

 

“Three weeks!?” The whole group yelled.  

 

“I don’t wanna be that girl, but you clearly need to get out more.” Rosario said to her.

 

“ **HEY, IT’S NOT MY FAULT!** ” Ruby yelled.

 

“Alright, alright take it down a notch cuz.” Melody said to Ruby, “Nobody’s trying to judge you here alright?”

 

Ruby let out a sigh as she waved it off, “Look whatever, let’s not talk about it anymore.”

 

“Fair enough.” Roman said, “Whatever you want Red.”

 

As they walked along the pathway, Scout’s wars twitched slightly as she caught a couple of buildings just nearby where they stood. “Um… Guys? What’s that?” Scout asked getting the groups attention.

 

They all looked up and saw the buildings just in front of them; they stopped in their tracks. “It looks like a town.” Cristal said.

 

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Rosario said looking on the map along with Jaune, “There’s no other town on this map.”

 

“Are you sure you’re reading that right?” Roman asked looking over their shoulders.

 

“Yeah.” Jaune said, “I may not be good at much but I know how to navigate. Though it still doesn’t make any sense… I didn’t think we would hit another town for at least a few days.”

 

Nora went onto a fallen post to get a better look at the town, along with Neo who took to the trees. “What do you guys see?” Cristal said.

 

“Not much.” Neo said, “It seems a little quiet for a town.”

 

“Are those buildings…” Nora said squinting, “... **_Damaged_ **?”

 

Everyone's eyes widened in horror at this, since damaged buildings could only mean one thing. “Let’s look for survivors!” Jaune said to the group.

 

They all nodded and they quickly ran into to town, not before Scout stopped to pick up the map that Jaune had dropped onto the ground; she quickly caught up with the group. They started to look through the town to find any survivors; most of them had even called out to see if they got any answer from anyone.

 

They soon regrouped after only a few moments of searching. “Did anyone find anything?” Cristal said.

 

“No, there’s no sign of anyone!” Ruby said.

 

“We checked the buildings, but there’s nothing.” Rosario said.

 

“This seems a little weird don’t you think?” Melody said, “If this is a town, shouldn’t there be people.”

 

“Yeah, plus these buildings seem, half finished.” Scout said.

 

Roman and Neo soon joined up with them, “We wouldn’t have found anyone regardless.” Roman said to the group, “This whole town has been abandoned, probably for a few years.”

 

“How do you know that?” Jaune asked.

 

“Vines on the walls, and the paint-job on these buildings.” Neo said.

 

“It’s a little something you pick up when your a thief.” Roman said.

 

“What do you think this town is though?” Rosario said, “It doesn’t show up on any maps.”

 

“It couldn’t hurt to look around some more.” Cristal said. The group had agreed to it and started to look around some more. As Ruby look through the buildings and such she could’ve sworn she thought she saw something up above. She had only caught of glimpse but she just didn’t know what.

 

Ruby tilted her head slightly, “That’s weird… I thought--”

 

“Guys!” She heard Nora call out, “I think I found something!”

 

Ruby looked back to the building before she went to rejoin the group; they were all gathered at the sign. Nora moved some of the leaves out of the way. The sign had read--

 

“Oniyuri?” Nora read, “That name doesn’t sound familiar.”  

 

“Hmm, that name doesn’t ring a bell.” Rosario asked, “Does that sound familiar to anyone?”

 

Most of the group shook their heads. “It’s a name I’ve never heard of.” Jaune said.

 

“I have.” Ren spoke up.

 

The whole group turned to Ren, giving a surprise look to him, while Frosty and Senka tilted their heads in confusion. “Anything you care to share?” Cristal asked.

 

Ren nodded, and started to explain, “You might think of it as Anima’s Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city with their own laws. They hoped one day it could maybe even it could even become it’s own Kingdom. Many even thought it would be the future. **_I know my parents did._ ** ”

 

Ren walked away from the group and towards a stone border. Everyone had stood silent not knowing what to say exactly. It wasn’t before Ruby spoke up.

 

“What happened?” She asked.

 

Ren turned to the group, “What always happens.” He wiped some dust away from the stone board and there they saw claw marks, and they knew what that meant exactly.

 

“The Grimm.” Jaune said with solemn.

 

Ren clenched his fist, “Not just any, **_one_ **.”

 

Everyone gave a look of confusion to each other, wondering what he meant exactly. Nora had a concerned gaze at him. They soon heard crows fly above their heads. “We should keep moving.” Roman said to the group, “It’s not safe to stay here.”

 

“Yeah.” Jaune said, “This place is giving me the creeps.”

 

“Ditto to that.” Rosario said.

 

With that the group made their way out of the town; however just from a distance a figure made from mist had watched them. It had started to move with a quick pace out of Oniyuri, and into the forest behind where the group had originally entered.

 

In the trees far from the village the mist had flown around a teenage girl, with crimson red hair left arm like a chain. It was revealed to be Elise, as she looked to the mist. She made her way out of the trees and onto the ground, where two more had waited; **_Diamond and Tyrian_**.

 

“Orpheus is back from scouting.” Elise said to the two of them.

 

Tyrian let out a chuckle as he jumped from the rock he was sitting atop of, “Oh goody!”

 

Diamond pushed herself off of a tree and walked over to Elise as did Tyrian. “That certainly was quick, let’s see what he’s found.”

 

Both Tyrian and Diamond placed their hands on both of Elise’s shoulders. “Orpheus.” Elise said, earning a reaction from the mist around her arm, “ ** _Show us what you saw_ **.”

 

Slowly the mist, named Orpheus left her arm, and went around each of their heads, connecting them, their eyes were colored black and soon enough they were shown several images and heard many voices. They saw the whole group, a Griffon type Grimm, a white fox, and two faces. The girl with the same face as the child they had, Cristal, and a girl with silver eyes.

 

The images came to an end and their eyes had gone back to normal; Orpheus wrapped around Elise left arm, the mist disappeared into her skin.

 

“It is true.” Diamond said, “Cristal and the Silver Eyed warrior, are among them.”

 

“Those two in the Tavern were telling the truth.” Elise said.

 

Tyrian said to the two of them, “This is just too perfect! They’re both in one place. This makes it so much easier and all the more fun!”

 

“So, what do we do?” Diamond asked.

 

“First, you two change out of your disguise, it doesn’t suit you both.” Tyrian said to them, “Second, we’ll do what we came here to do, and retrieve them for our Goddess, but not before I have my fun.”

 

“Just make sure that you don’t kill those two.” Elise said, “Remember we need them both alive.”

 

“True my dear.” Tyrian said, “Though that doesn’t mean they have to be intact.”

 

“What of the others?” Diamond said.

 

“They don’t matter to us.” He replied, “All that matters is them and them only. If they get in the way, than kill them. Understand?”

 

Diamond and Elise nodded to him before they shut their eyes; Diamond removing the hat on her head. Red Eyes glowed on a single part of their body; a ride glowed on Diamond’s right shoulder while Elise’s glowed in the side of her stomach. In a single moment their outfit and even hair color had changed. Elise was now wearing a gray halter top revealing her stomach area and red eye; with it was a pair of red pants and a single black knee pad on her right knee and on her hands she had a pair of dark brown fingerless gloves, one long and one short. Her red crimson hair changed to a black coal color, the only thing that didn’t change was her eye vivid green eye.

 

Diamonds yukata changed from red to black; the long sleeves just changed into arm sleeves that was colored in black and revealed her shoulders. Her whole yukata changed into a black color though the back hung loosely and was colored in red. Now around her waist was a short gray and red ribbon. Underneath she had on a gray skirt with cropped leggings and her shoes stayed the same. Her hair change from magenta and orange to, gray and white.

 

They opened there eyes as they had been removed from their disguises. Diamond tied her hair into a bun while Elise tied her’s back into a ponytail. They moved away their bangs revealing a single blind eye in the shade of orange.

 

“Ah, now there's the better look.” Tyrian said before holding out a pair of Grimm masks, “It just needs one last thing to complete it.”

 

Diamond and Elise took the masks from his hand; Diamond placed the mask over her mouth, while Elise placed her’s over her eyes despite the left side being cracked. Tyrian soon handed Elise her dark gray trench coat, and she put it on swiftly; soon after he handed her weapon to her which was a gothic battle axe. Diamond took her hat; as soon as she pressed the center it split into a pair of fans with blades that had a red eye insignia in the middle of both of them.

 

“Perfect.” He said still with a smile, before getting his weapons; he licked his lips, “Now than… **_It’s time to play_ **.”

 

With a fit of laughter Tyrian started to run down the path with great speed, towards Oniyuri, with Diamond and Elise not too far behind him.

 

**(** **_Second Ending Theme: I’m Waiting for the Rain TV Size Performed By Maaya Sakamoto)_ **


	9. A Face That Could Never Be

**_(Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams)_ **

 

**_-Oniyuri-_ **

 

**_“It’s time to play…”_ **

 

The whole group continued to walk through the abandoned village of Oniyuri, and they couldn’t help but look around some more and just shudder at the thought of the atmosphere around them. “This place is like out of someone's nightmares.” Scout said as she shivered.

 

“Don’t worry.” Melody said comforting her, “We’ll be out of here soon.”

 

“Yeah.” Ruby said comforting her too, “Once we’re away we can put this place behind us.”

 

“Hey, I see the exit.” Rosario said, pointing up ahead.

 

The group saw the exit just up ahead from where they were, and they were all eager to get out of there, as quickly as they could. Just before they could, Ren stopped and held up his hand, making everyone stop in their tracks. Everyone seemed to tense up, and soon Senka started to growl as did Frosty who was hanging on Melody’s shoulder.

 

“Frosty?” Melody said, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

 

Frosty didn’t register Melody’s touch when she went to touch his ear. “Someone’s coming…” Scout said, “Is what he’s saying.”

 

Cristal turned to Senka as he growled to her.

 

“Now what’s he saying?” Roman asked.

 

Cristal turned to the group, and said, “It’s the Shadows, my sisters… They’re coming…”  

 

Ren armed himself as did the others as they stood ready for combat. Senka growled to Cristal again, and Cristal’s eyes widened slightly. “What? Are you sure?” She said; Senka growled again, as to answer her question.

 

“What’s he saying now?” Jaune asked.

 

“He said they’re not alone…” Cristal said, “ **_... They’re with someone…_ ** ”

 

“Who?” Ruby asked.

 

They soon got their answer when they saw a man just jump overhead and land just in front of them. The minute he landed on the ground he armed his weapons which was a pair of arm blades; he charged at Ruby and Cristal, but Rosario and Ren stood in his way. They went at him, with Rosario throwing her kicks and Ren attacking the man with his Storm Flowers, but the man was quick to block their attacks. Rosario armed her blade that was hidden in her leg and tried to hit him, but he block and countered, sending the girl flying. Ren went at him once more, but he was sent flying too.

 

Despite the others blocking his way he managed to get through with ease, and went to attack Cristal and Ruby. They were quick to block his blades, but he moved so fast that it was hard to predict his movements. He landed a hit on both of them, with Ruby’s aura depleting slightly and creating a fresh wound on Cristal’s arm. This had caused the both of them to back up. Scout, Neo and Jaune went to charge at him. Scout armed her arm blades while Neo engaged him in hand to hand combat, and Jaune charged at him with his sword.

 

They attempted to land hits on him but it proved to be pointless. He kicked Scout away, and she ended up hitting Neo. As Jaune went to charge at him once more the man dodged and climbed onto his shield. The minute Jaune looked the man  in the eyes, he had gotten an up close and personal look, that made him flinch.

 

Melody, Nora, and Roman went to charge at the man, Melody went to attack him, but he dodged quick and Nora went to hit him with her hammer but again he was quick to move. With an opening, Roman armed his weapon and fired a round, sending him flying right into a building.

 

By the time the dust cleared they had finally got a good look at the man, as they saw him holding himself in between wooden frames. The man had pale skin and his long hair was tied into a braid and he had on a dark brown jacket over his white jacket; though it was left open, revealing scars in the middle of his chest and across his stomach. He wore a pair of white pants and a brown buckles and a pair of piercings on his ears and he had on leather vambraces, and he had a pair of leather boots.

 

Cristal’s eyes widened slightly when she saw the man, before she glared at him.

 

“He a friend of yours Roman?” Rosario asked as she joined the group.  

 

“Why you asking me?” Roman said to her.

 

“No offense but you used to hang with guys like him.” Rosario answered.

 

“We’ve never seen that man before, neither of us have.” Neo said.

 

“ **WE DON’T WANT ANY TROUBLE!** ” Scout yelled to the man.

 

“ **WE’RE NOT LOOKING TO START A FIGHT!** ” Jaune yelled after Scout.

 

“ **ALL WE WANT IS TO PASS THROUGH HERE!** ” Melody exclaimed.

 

The man just stood was there in silence, not even answering saying anything. “ **WHO ARE YOU!?** ” Ren exclaimed. The man revealed his golden eyes, as he smiled; he dropped himself out of the building and landed on his feet.

 

Finally he spoke pointing to team CRMS, Roman and Neo, and even Ren and Nora, “Who I am, doesn’t matter to any of you, or the two of you, or you, or you, or…”

 

The man stopped when he had gotten to Jaune, he said to him, “Well… You **_do_ ** interest me.”

 

Jaune was left perplexed by this before the man gave out a chuckle, “No… I only matter, to Cristal **_... and you_ ** _._ ”

 

The whole group turned to Cristal and Ruby; while Cristal still had her glare, Ruby was left confused. “Me?” Ruby said, tilting her head slightly.

 

The man started to laugh at this, getting the groups attention back to him. “You haven’t the slightest clue, do you?” He said with a smile, “How exciting this must be!” He started to laugh again.

 

“ **_Tyrian…_ ** ” Cristal said through gritted teeth; earning a look from the whole group, “... Why am I not surprised to see you out here?”

 

The man before them, Tyrian said to her in a taunting way, “Now, now don’t be so rude little Crissy… You know better than to talk that way to adults.”

 

“You know this creep?” Rosario said.

 

“Unfortunately.” Cristal said before giving a brief explanation, “The night Destiny went missing, when she was taken… He was there to retrieve her. I tried to hide her from him, intervene with his search, but let’s just say he wasn’t alone. In the end he managed to find her and take her away.”  

 

“What?!” Roman said, “He’s the one who took her?!”

 

Before Cristal could answer Tyrian answered for her still with a smile, “Tis true Roman. I am the one responsible taking your precious Princess. Fear not though, she’s where she belongs now.” As Tyrian laughed, Roman was going to charge at him, but Neo stopped him.

 

Hearing this new information, team RNJR specifically gave a look of anger to Tyrian.

 

“What do you want…?” Ruby said with a glare.

 

Tyrian gasped dramatically at this, “The rose has thorns. My little flower, I’m here to whisk you and Crissy away with me.”

 

Nora stood in front of Ruby and Cristal, “And what if they don’t want to go with you?”

 

He scrunched up his lips as he stared, letting his arm fall to his side. “Well…” He said casually, “ **_I’ll take them_ **.”

 

Melody soon stood between him, her leader and cousin, “Like hell you will. I’m not going to let you take our leader, and I sure as hell am not letting you take away a member of my family.”

 

Jaune joined up with Melody as did Roman.

 

“You may have taken Destiny, but I won’t let you take anyone else.” Roman said aiming his Melodic Cudgel at Tyrian.

 

“We won’t let you do what you want.” Jaune said with his sword and shield in hand.

 

All Tyrian did was laugh once more, “ **_Good_ **.”

 

Suddenly the three of them felt the presence of not one, but two people behind them, about to strike them. “ **BEHIND YOU!** ” Scout yelled.

 

“ **WATCH OUT!** ” Ren exclaimed.

 

It was only than that each of them had reacted. Roman armed his arm blade, to stop a blade from hitting his face, and Melody stopped one from hitting her face as well. Jaune immediately blocked with his shield as he was almost met with an axe blade.

 

Diamond and Elise were the ones that had attacked from behind.

 

“Where did these two come from!?” Roman exclaimed before he and Melody were kicked in the face by Diamond, causing them to lose their balance and stumble.

 

“Well now, the gangs all here!” Tyrian said.

 

Jaune pushed Elise off of him, and soon saw the red eye on the side of her stomach; he turned and saw Diamond’s red eye on her right shoulder. “Guys! These are the Shadows!” Jaune said.

 

“We see that!” Melody said. She heard Diamond chuckle slightly.

 

“The daughter of Qrow.” Diamond said while folding only one of her fans, “So you’re the one that Sinn was having difficulty taking out.”

 

“I take it that Sinn is a friend of yours.” Melody said.

 

“She’s the leader of our team.” Diamond replied, “And I am one if it’s members. Diamond. It’s a pleasure.”

 

“At least your a talker. You can do without the Grimm mask over your mouth though.”

 

Diamond only scoffed at this, “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry so much on your opponents look, and more about your life.”

 

“How threatening.” Roman said jokingly.

 

Cristal saw that Tyrian had been distracted, and quickly armed her shotgun on of her swords and fired a round in his direction. He quickly jumped out of the way just as he landed on the ground Rosario rushed him; as she kicked at him her heels had fired rounds, and Scout attacked him head on; Frosty and Senka immediately moved away to the sidelines.  “Ruby!” Cristal said to her, “My team and I got Tyrian!! You guys, Roman and Neo take care of the Shadows!”

 

“Got it!” Ruby said, “You heard her team! Let’s do this!”

 

Everyone nodded, and they moved to their opponents; Ruby, Jaune, and Roman rushed Elise, while Nora, Ren and Neo, charged Diamond head on. And Cristal and Melody went after Tyrian, like how Rosario and Scout were.

 

Ruby went at Elise with her Crescent Rose in hand; blades had collided with one another. At one point Elise kicked her back and flipped her axe changing it to a gun. She started to fire; Ruby quickly used her semblance to dodge the incoming bullets. Jaune and Roman came at from the sides, Roman armed with his blade and Jaune with his sword. Just as they were going to hit her, all Elise did was lift her hand and suddenly their weapons stopped. A black aura was seen around their weapons and her hand.

 

They had realized it was her semblance.

 

“W-what?” Ruby said with her eyes wide.

 

Elise waved her hand and the were sent flying in her direction; Ruby quickly dodged. “Polarity?” Jaune said as he stood up, “She’s able to use polarity?”

 

“Let’s not worry about it now.” Roman said, “Just focus on the opponent!”

 

Ruby’s eyes were still wide, but she shook it off and charged at Elise once more with her Crescent Rose, though Elise managed to gain the upperhand when she saw an opening. She hit Ruby’s side with the back of her weapon, and managed to disarm her.

 

“Your lucky I was told to bring you back alive.” Elise said to her as she pinned her, “Though if you try to fight I will break your limbs.”

 

“ **LET HER GO!** ” Jaune yelled, as he charged at her again. Elise moved off of Ruby and blocked Jaune's sword and countered him with her axe. Their blades clashed each others, as they did, Jaune couldn’t help but wonder why this set up, and her moves were familiar.

 

“ **ARKY MOVE**!” Roman yelled; He fired his flare gun, and with his cane he hit the flare shot. Jaune only moved at the last second catching Elise by surprise. The flare shot hit her in the stomach causing to fly back but she kept her footing. She held her stomach as she felt a slight burn from the flare.

 

“ **NOW RED!** ” Roman yelled. Ruby nodded and charged at Elise and caught her by surprise. Ruby nodded and grabbed her Crescent Rose and charged at Elise. She hit with the blade, though she blocked the attack giving her only minor cuts; Ruby quickly added on to her attack when she kicked her in the face, managing to knock off of her mask and she tumbled and rolled on the ground. Ruby went to attack her once more the Crescent Rose though Elise was quick to block her attack, that’s when Ruby received a surprise when she got a good look at Elise’s face; Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

 

“... **_Pyrrha…?_ ** ” Was all Ruby had said.

* * *

 With Ren, Nora and Neo, they were having difficulty against Diamond. Everytime they attacked, she dodged and countered with her fans blades. They jumped back gaining distance from her; Neo motioned to Ren and Nora seemed to get the idea of what the plan was. This time only Neo charged at Diamond, arming her blade that was on her umbrella; She used fencing skills as she tried to stab Diamonds face. With simple movements she was able avoid her blade, but had received only minor cuts.

 

Diamond folded her fan, and it attached to her wrist. It unfolded into a mini crossbow but had bullets instead of arrows; she aimed the weapon at Neo. She started to fire at Neo, but all she did was smile as she blocked the bullets when she opened her umbrella and the bullets were blocked, and they couldn’t hit her. Neo’s hidden gun popped out from her sleeve and fired at Diamond. She was able to block the bullets with her second fan. She swiftly threw the fan over in Neo’s direction and it seemed to have hit her; but as soon as it hit Neo’s body it just shattered leaving Diamond shocked at this.

 

Though she lost that though when she suddenly heard a shot fired at her. Diamond quickly flipped back as it rained shots; than she was kicked from behind nearly losing her balance. It was done by Ren; Nora quickly jumped from the building with her hammer armed and swung it at Diamond, she was quick to dodge it.

 

Both Ren and Nora charged at her while disarming her in the process.

* * *

 CRMS kept going at Tyrian, though all he did was laugh as they threw attacks at him. “You just don’t know when to stop do you?” Tyrian said amused.

 

“Shut the hell up you creeper!” Melody said swinging her weapon at him, though he was able to block her attack. He kneed her in the stomach getting her to cry out in agony and hit her in the back making her fall on the ground.

 

Scout went to attack Tyrian head on, with her hand blades armed, and had extended thanks to her dust enhancements, and she tried landing a hit on him. Tyrian blocked her attacks and went to attack her, but his attacks phased right through her body, as if she were a ghost.

 

“Ooo, neat semblance!” He said, impressed; When Scout tried to activate her semblance again he grabbed her by the hair as she cringed with pain “But it’s not going to help you now!” Tyrian grabbed her face and threw here into the ground making a crater. Rosario and Cristal charged at him together, though he attacked them head on.

 

“Tell me where Destiny is Tyrian!” Cristal said to him, “I know she’s keeping her alive, so tell me where she is!”

 

“I’ve got a better idea! You can come with me, and I deliver you to **_her_ **!” Tyrian said with a smile, before going to hit her; Rosario immediately went to counter him, and she managed to hit him right in the face causing him to stumble.

 

Tyrian charged at Rosario and she blocked his blade with the blade in her leg. “I know those movements.” Tyrian said, “The way you fight, and the single prosthetic leg… Your that boy's sister aren’t you?”

 

Rosario kicked him back making him fly a few feet.

 

“Now I remember, your the girl who left, who decided to turn down what Cinder had to offer, what **_WE_ ** had to offer!” He said to Rosario, “And now your with these people…”

 

“Don’t talk to me like you know me!” Rosario said as she jumped to kick him. He grabbed ahold of her foot and threw her causing her to flip; though she managed to land on her two feet.

 

“I made the right choice by leaving, after what I saw your people do to that poor girl!” Rosario said, “You would steal away powers and kill just to get what you want! That’s not something for a good cause, it’s just cruel and horrific! Something I did not sign up for!”

 

“Sacrifices are necessary to the cause!” Tyrian said as he laughed slightly, “You knew that before you made the mistake in leaving!”

 

“I didn’t make the mistake… Now my brother he’s the one that made it, by following that **_monster_**. I plan to find him and beat his senses back into him. Right after I kick your ass.” Rosario said, before firing a round from her heels.

 

“ **GO ON! TRY TO HIT ME!** ” Tyrian taunted as he dodged the shots.

 

 He went towards her once more this time he managed to get her to loose her footing and used his blade to damage her leg as she was in the air, than he kicked her and she hit the fountain.

 

“ **ROSARIO!** ” Cristal exclaimed, before she found Tyrian in front of her suddenly.

 

“Where are you looking Crissy!?” Tyrian said catching her by surprise. Cristal jumped back a few feet from Tyrian and felt blood trailed down her face; she had soon realized that she had gotten a cut on her head from him when she dodged his attack. “Damn…” Cristal cursed herself, as she wiped the blood away, “This is one of the things I hate about being a Grimm Hybrid…”

 

Tyrian laughed as he charged at her again.

* * *

 Ruby was just in complete and utter shock when she saw the girl, Elise before her; she had the same face as she does her friend, the one many claimed to be the invincible girl. Pyrrha Nikos.

 

Jaune stood there stunned as well at what he heard Ruby say. “Ruby… What did you just say?”

 

Ruby spoke again to Elise, “... Are you… Really Pyrrha?”

 

Elise used this to her advantage and kicked Ruby off of her, making her land near Jaune and Roman’s feet. It was than Jaune got a good look at her face as she went to get her mask.

 

“Pyrrha?” Jaune said with disbelief, “... But… How…”

 

Elise looked to Jaune and Ruby, “Pyrrha is not my name.” Elise said to the two teens, “My name is Elise.”

 

“But… No, that’s--” Ruby said her mind going into a scramble at this, “Your Pyrrha! Your actually here!”

 

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Elise said calmly, as she put her mask back on her face, “I don’t who this Pyrrha is, but let me assure you, I’m not the person you think I am.”

 

“Pyrrha, what are you talking about?” Jaune said, “Don’t you recognize us?”

 

“It’s us, Ruby and Jaune, we’re your friends!” Ruby said.

 

Elise tilted her head slightly before feeling a slight pain in her head, “ **_Ruby… Jaune?_ ** ”

 

Roman grunted out of annoyance, “For the love of--”

 

With his Melodic Cudgel armed, he fired a round at Elise; the shot landed near her feet and she was sent flying into one of the buildings. Ruby immediately stood up, “Roman what are you doing!? Why did you do that!?”

 

“You could’ve killed her!” Jaune exclaimed, “Why did you--”

 

“What am I doing!?” Roman said, “What are you two doing!? You froze up instead of attacking her! What in the hell are you thinking!?”

 

“How can you say that?!” Jaune said

 

“How could we attack her!? She’s our friend!” Ruby said.

 

Ruby was taken by surprise when she felt a sudden sting on her cheek. It didn’t take her long to realize that Roman had smacked her across the face; Jaune jumped at this when he saw her slap her.

 

“Don’t act stupid!” Roman said to her, “Get your mind out of the clouds and wake up! That girl, Elise is not your friend!”

 

“But she is her! You can’t just--”

 

“Open your eyes Red, **_that’s only her face_ ** ! She’s not the girl you knew! Hell you know she couldn’t be, because you saw her **_die_** , and her body **_vanish_ ** because of Cinder!”

 

Ruby tried to think of something to say but found herself struggling to do so. Jaune than spoke up, “But… she’s right there… in front of us…”

 

Ruby finally said, “Pyrrha is right there Roman… they must’ve did something to--”

 

“Listen to yourselves.” Roman said to them sternly getting their attention, “Your just talking nonsense now. Just because Elise has her face, doesn’t automatically make her Pyrrha. You both know the real truth. **_She’s gone._ ** Nothing you can say or do can bring her back, not even a cheap imitation.”

 

“Roman I can’t!” Ruby said, “I mean she’s--”

 

“Don’t you remember what Cristal told you?” Roman said, “Huh? You two swore that no matter who’s face you saw you would fight to survive! Are you seriously trying to tell me that you’re going back on your word just because you think Elise is something she’s not?!”

 

“But Roman--” Jaune said.

 

Roman stopped him, “No listen to me. I don’t even know how the hell it’s possible but Elise only has her face, it **_DOESN’T_ ** make her the girl you knew at your school. Even if it was her, would she really want to see either of you get hurt?”

 

Ruby and Jaune soon came to realize that Roman had made a point. The Pyrrha they knew, the Pyrrha that they once knew was always looking out for her friends, when in school or on the battlefield. She would never want to see any of her friends get hurt. Roman’s right, how could they have been so stupid!? They wouldn’t go back on their word to Cristal, especially not Jaune.

 

“Are you two just going to sit there, and think about something that’s impossible, or are you going to stand up and fight like the Huntsman and Huntress you were meant to be?” Roman said.

 

Ruby and Jaune looked to Roman, and smirked slightly at the expressions on their faces. “Let’s do this.” Ruby said with a smirk.

 

Just as this was said, Elise had fired a round from her weapon and the three of them quickly moved. As they once more engaged in a fight, Ruby saw how the others were handling things, but she saw that despite their being only three of them, they were clearly outmatched. Finally after sometime the whole team had regrouped and were quick to form a plan before their opponents charge at them once more. Jaune, Ren, and Scout engaged Tyrian, Neo, Melody and Rosario ( ** _Despite her leg being damaged_ ** ) went after Diamond, while Ruby, Nora, Roman and Cristal went fought Elise.

 

Elise didn’t notice but Ruby distance herself as she lined up for a shot, while she was busy dealing with Roman, Nora and Cristal. At one point Nora had gotten Elise’s attention, and she charged at her. That’s when Ruby took the shot, that had caught Elise’s eye as she watched the bullet laced with electricity passed by; It hit Nora causing her to tumble and hit the stone border. This had caused everyone to stop their fighting, as they took notice of this.

 

Tyrian ended up laughing at this, “Well, isn’t that ironic!”

 

Elise turned to Ruby, “... Your a poor excuse of a shot. I wonder how you survived out here.”

 

What they and Elise herself had failed to notice was Nora standing up and electricity coursed through her body, and the whole group smiled deviously as did Nora. Elise, Diamond and Tyrian couldn’t help as to wonder as to why. Nora suddenly had gone behind Elise as she went to hit her with her hammer armed; this gave Elise no time to react.

 

“ **ELISE!** ” Diamond exclaimed when she realized what was going to happen.

 

There was suddenly a puff of smoke, and that caused everyone to shield their eyes. Finally each of them opened their eyes and looked to where Nora and Elise were supposed to be.

 

“Did she get her?” Scout said.

 

Cristal looked around the area and saw Diamond still standing where she was but someone was missing. “Where did Tyrian go?” She said. The group noticed that he was gone too, but when the smoke finally cleared they were all in for a shock when they turned their attention back to Nora. A scorpion's tail stood between Nora’s hammer and Elise’s face, and the scorpion’s tail belonged to Tyrian himself, who had crouched just behind the teenage girl.

 

He giggled amusingly seeing Nora’s reaction, “Surprise.”

 

Elise quickly moved as Tyrian delivered kicks to Nora making her stumble. Tyrian leaped back and landed on the rooftop of a building nearby, while shedding his coat, revealing his sleeveless white jacket and his tail curled; Diamond and Elise soon jumped away from the group, near where Tyrian was.

 

“A Fanus?” Melody said as she was in shock.

 

“He’s… A Fanus?” Ren said with disbelief.

 

“You gotta be kidding me…” Rosario said.

 

“I thought he was giving off a familiar scent.” Scout said, “But I didn’t think he…”

 

Ruby stepped forward, “What is this about!? The White Fang!? Roman’s betrayal!?”

 

Tyrian replied as his tail moved in a sinister way, “Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to our **_Goddess_ **.”  

 

“Cinder?” Jaune said with slight confusion.

 

Tyrian merely scoffed at this, “Only in her wildest dreams…”

 

Ruby looked to Cristal remembering what she had told them. “ ** _It is true…_ ** ” Ruby thought in her head. Soon she was brought back from reality when Tyrian launched himself from the building he stood on and landed between Cristal and herself. He armed his blades and went to attack Cristal and Ruby head on; he had sent them flying in opposite directions. Team CRMS were about to help them, but Diamond and Elise blocked their way and started to attack them.

 

Tyrian turned his attention over to Ren and Neo and used his tail to attack them. They managed to dodge his tail, as it had almost landed a hit on them. Finally he swung his tail catching them by surprise as they were sent flying. Nora, and Jaune tried to attack but he ended up maneuvering them, and countered. He than charged at Roman armed with his hand blades; Roman blocked each of his blades but barely. Each hit he had gotten on from Tyrian only depleted his aura to a considerable amount before he was kicked to the side by his tail.

 

Cristal charged at Tyrian once more, but just as she was about to equip her whip mode on the sword he had disarmed her and hit her across the face, leaving a bruise on her cheek. Tyrian spun around just about to deliver a kick to her.

 

“ **CRISTAL**!” Ruby exclaimed. Ruby used her semblance to get to where Cristal was, and she shoved her out of the way. This had caused her to go flying instead as she let go of her Crescent Rose. Tyrian was quick to move as he gotten to where Ruby flew. Right before she could land on the ground, Tyrian let out a powerful kick in her abdomen, breaking her aura; she flew once more.

 

Ruby toppled into the ground landing on her side and near her Crescent Rose. She tried to get up but the pain was to great. Tyrian soon towered over as he prepared to attack her with his tail; his eyes changed from gold to purple.

 

“ **DON’T TOUCH HER YOU SON OF A--AGH!** ” Melody started to yell before she was kneed in the stomach courtesy of Diamond. Melody tried to use her weapon but it was forcefully ripped off of her wrist by Diamond; she armed her crossbow at her, pointing to her forehead.

 

Rosario and Scout tried to run over to help Ruby but once again Elise stood in their way.

 

Ruby shut her eyes as Tyrian went to attack her as she prepared for the worst to come; Though a split second later she didn’t feel any pain. That’s when she heard Neo scream in horror. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw a puddle of red just in front of her. Slowly she looked up and saw a familiar man with orange hair right front of her, with blood dripping from his side.

 

“... Roman…?” Ruby said petrified.

 

Roman let out a grunt as he turned to her slightly; blood was seen coming from his mouth.

 

“What Little Red…?” Roman said as he tried to smirk, “... Couldn’t you see that coming…?”

 

With a sickening cackle, Tyrian removed his tail from Roman’s side, and the man staggered slightly, before he fell backwards passing out.

 

“ **ROMAN!** ” Ruby exclaimed as she went to catch him, his hat falling off in the process.

 

Everyone stood there stunned by what had just happened as Ruby tried to shake him awake.

 

Tyrian only laughed amusingly at this getting the attention of Cristal, “The great Will-O-Wisp actually protected one he once considered an enemy! Oh how the great and mighty fall!” Cristal felt something in her snap at Tyrian’s word, and the way he laughed; when she blinked her once blind eye turned into a regular eye that was of orange and filled with tar, and faint line of her veins were seen around her right eye.

 

Her teammates, the rest of team RNJR and Neo noticed this, as they saw her right hand turn into a the talons from a Griffon. “... Cristal…?” Ruby said with a somewhat fearful look; though Cristal didn’t seem to have heard her.

 

Cristal said to Tyrian with a voice that was hollow, “ _I will send you back to your so called Goddess…_ **_IN PIECES!_ ** ”

 

With incredible speed, Cristal charged at Tyrian with full force, attacking him with the talons; he blocked her attacks with the help of his arm blades and scorpions tail, but Cristal just kept attacking him with a look to kill over and over again. Diamond and Elise saw Tyrian signal them, and they moved away from what they were doing to back them up.

 

Ruby noticed them go to Tyrian, and turned to Scout, “ **SCOUT! SCOUT COME QUICK!** ”

 

“Huh--Oh right!” Scout said, at first not hearing Ruby; she ran over to her as did Neo, Jaune and Melody. Melody went by Ruby, “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Ruby said to her cousin, “But Roman--

 

The ice cream haired girl slid on her knees to Roman’s side. “Roman! Roman!” Neo said trying to get him to wake up, “You bastard, wake up!”

 

Scout kneeled by Roman’s side and examined the wound.

 

“What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he waking up?” Ruby said to Scout.

 

Scout placed her ear on his chest, before she sat herself back up.

 

“This isn’t good! He’s been poisoned by the tail! It’s a neurotoxin; it’s already going after his heart!” Scout said, as she quickly started to look through her arm bag that was around her left elbow, “He’s going into cardiac arrest!”

 

“Can’t you do anything?!” Jaune said.

 

“Luckily I came prepared in case of poisons such as this one.” Scout said, taking out a syringe from her small bag, “I have a nerve tonic that will be able to help him. It won’t stop the poison, but it’ll buy me time to fix up an antidote with the materials I have in my bag.”

 

“Are you sure this will work?” Ruby asked.

 

“Of course.” Scout said, “I’ve designed this nerve tonic myself, it helped a lot of my patients back in my hometown.”

 

Finally after looking through her other pocket, she found what she needed a small bottle of light green liquid. Carefully and quickly she got a small amount of the liquid into the syringe and put the bottle back in her pocket.

 

“I’m going to have to inject it into his heart, in order to jumpstart it.” Scout said as she removed his cape and unbuttoned his shirt slightly to reveal his scarred chest, “It’s gonna be close.”

 

“How can we help?” Jaune said.

 

“I need you all to hold him down.” Scout said, “It’s going to hurt a lot and I can’t have him moving around until all of the liquid in the syringe is gone!”

 

They nodded their heads and went to do just that; Melody and Jaune held down each of his shoulders, and Ruby and Neo held down his legs. Scout held the syringe firmly in her hand.

 

“On three.” Scout said to them, “One… two… **THREE!** ”

 

With swiftness the syringe needle had gone into his chest and Roman’s eyes shot open as he screamed; he tried to move but Ruby, Neo, Melody and Jaune kept a firm grip on him, preventing him from moving. Scout quickly started to inject the light green liquid into his heart as he thrashed.

* * *

 Cristal fought, Tyrian, Diamond and Elise head on with brute force. She tried to scratch them up with her claws but it proved to futile; Tyrian laughed at Cristal’s efforts.

 

“ ** _I’LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!_ ** ” Cristal yelled as a single wing of a Nevermore appeared on her back; with a wave her wing, razor blades of feathers were sent flying in their direction. They ducked and flipped out of the way as the feather hit the buildings just behind them making them fall.

 

Tyrian charged at Cristal attacking her with his tail; though she was able to counter it with her own tail, as she retracted her wing and a Deathstalkers tail grew out from her back and blocked his attack. They went at it for a while until Cristal was knocked away by some unknown force that sent her flying into a wall, causing her to cough up a small amount of blood.

 

She looked up, she saw Diamonds right eye in the same state as her’s but, a black claw hand that had emerged from her back.

 

“ _A Geist?!_ ” Cristal had exclaimed.

 

“ _Avira is a very useful Grimm Partner to have._ ” Diamond said, her voice echoing slightly, “ _I can see why you like to have Senka around, they give you one hell of an upgrade._   _Though_  a _ll your Griffon does it gives you talons, how will fair against my Partner?_ ”

 

Cristal ignored Diamonds threat and charged at her again, with her talons. She went to try and scratch her up but she just moved with ease. When she tried to go for the fifth time, Diamond made her moved. The claw hand on her back lifted rocks nearby and she threw them right in Cristal's direction, and she was hit right in the face with the rocks creating bruises across her face, making her stumble. Elise fired shots at her feet causing her to trip. She wiped the blood off of mouth but was soon caught by surprise by Tyrian when he punched her right in the gut; she dropped her other weapon.

 

Tyrian hit her with his tail causing her to fly and finally with a swing of his arm blade he landed a hit on her; a giant cut was seen on her shoulder and gushed out like a waterfall; black spots were faintly seen on it. Cristal felt dizzy, as the blood drained from her body, and she fell to her knees. Her orange eye changed back to a blind eye.

 

Tyrian chuckled at this as he grasped her chin. “One down, and one to go.” He said, before letting her fall on her side.

 

“Should we tie her up?” Elise said.

 

“No.” Tyrian replied, taken the two girls by surprise slightly, “She won’t be able to do anything in her current state, besides, I’ll use her as leverage, just in case.”

* * *

 All of the light green liquid had gone into Roman’s chest and he had passed out once again but this time it was from the pain. Scout removed the needle and leaned her ear against his chest, hearing a steady heartbeat. “His heart is stable.” Scout said to them. Ruby, Jaune, Neo, and Melody sighed with relief at that.

 

“He’ll be okay for now, but he’s not out of the woods yet.” Scout said, “I figure we have 9 maybe 6 hours before the poison starts to attack his heart again.”

 

“Okay, okay.” Ruby said, trying to get up, but she clutched her side; groaning slightly, “We have to regroup and get out of here, where’s Cristal?”

 

“She went after Tyrian.” Jaune said.

 

They soon saw their teammates having horrified reactions on their faces. They wondered why until they followed their eyes to why they looked so shocked. Their just in front of them they saw Tyrian, with Diamond and Elise by his side. Cristal was with them, but she was in a bloody mess; she was unconscious and was being held by the neck; his tail was curled around her.

 

“Oh my God…” Neo said stunned.

 

“… No…” Ruby said with disbelief.

 

“ **CRISTAL!** ” Rosario, Melody, and Scout exclaimed. Senka let out a screech and charged at Tyrian; he tried to leap and attack with his talons but, the black claw hand on Diamonds back grabbed Senka and pinned him to the ground, restricting his movements. Rosario, Melody, and Scout were about to run over to her, but they stopped in their tracks when Tyrian held his blade to her shoulder.

 

“Ah, ah, ah.” Tyrian said wagging his finger in a sinister way, “I wouldn’t move if I were you. Otherwise I’ll remove Crissy’s limbs, starting with her arm.”

 

“Cristal!” Scout cried out.

 

“No way, it’s a bluff!” Melody said, “There’s no way he would do that!”

 

“We were only told to bring her and the silver eyed girl back alive.” Elise said, “We were never told to bring them back in one piece.”

 

“... Do you really wanna call it a bluff? I will cut her limbs off, and I **_will_ ** make it hurt.” Tyrian said as he cackled. As he laughed, he drew his blade closer to her shoulder, as they tried to move until--

 

“Stop! Just stop!” Ruby said, “We’ll stay where we are! Just… Just stop hurting her, please.”

 

Tyrian laughed at this, and removed the blade from Cristal’s shoulder, “Perfect.” He said as he went towards where Ruby was, “Now… It’s time to collect, after I take care of **_one little thing_ ** …”

 

He let go of Cristal, but dragged her by the collar of her jacket. When he approached her, he knocked, Jaune, Melody, Scout and Neo away with a swing of his tail; Frosty ran to Melody. All Ruby could do was cower as she saw his eyes turn to purple once again, and laughed. The others wanted to help, but couldn’t since he threatened to hurt Cristal and leave her in an even worse condition.

 

Tyrian went to strike, that was when someone burst through a building and put themselves between Ruby and Tyrian. Everyone looked up at this, as to wondering who had saved Ruby this time.

 

“Who is this now?” Rosario said.

 

She and Scout heard Melody chuckle slightly. She said with a smile, “... That old bastard…”

 

Ruby smiled as well knowing who exactly this was that had saved her.  ** _Qrow_ ** chuckled slightly as he held the end of his blade, that was blocking the scorpion's tail; He looked down to his niece as he smiled.

 

“Hey.”

 

 ** _(Ending Theme:_** **_I’m Waiting for the Rain TV Size Performed By Maaya Sakamoto)_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you guys are confused, I just want to say, no I did not bring back Pyrrha. The OC Elise is just the shadow of Pyrrha. Just thought it was something that you guys wanted to know :)


	10. The Odd One Out

- ** _Three Years Ago; Vales Apartment 3G_ ** -

 

_Two days had gone by since Destiny had witnessed, what she could only describe was something out of a dream. She just couldn’t find an explanation for it, like she really couldn’t. It was one of those things that didn’t need an explanation on what or how it could be, but it just needed to be witnessed. A girl that had her face, even her hairstyle. True the difference was her age difference and even her personality was different from her own. She just couldn’t believe her own eyes, she even sweared that she was still imagining things._

 

_Though getting back to her room was a snap which was surprising to her of course. Though Cristal had told her that she was only seen when her own eyes stayed open, so even if she was seen they wouldn’t see her; it sure saved her on the questions._

 

_Neo was just getting ready to leave for one of her day jobs, as she fixed up her outfit and activated her semblance putting on one of her many disguises. She turned to Destiny who wore a baggy shirt dress, while holding her medicine bag, “I don’t mean to leave you here alone in this tiny apartment, but I really have to get going.”_

 

_“It’s okay Neo.” Destiny reassured her, “I don’t mind it.”_

 

_Neo smiled and patted her on the head, “Okay, I left you lunch in the fridge that you can heat up whenever you get hungry, and do not set foot out of this apartment. I should be back by the afternoon, afterwards we can see your dad okay?”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head, but soon her attention was drawn slightly to her right when she heard something. She saw Cristal literally just looking around and picking up to look at things while Neo was still in the room._

 

_Cristal was about to take another step forward when Destiny motioned her to stop. Cristal looked over to Destiny when she noticed her making hand signs that were incoherent. Cristal started to make the same signs she was doing, but she held in her laughter. Destiny was about to make even more signs, until her attention was drawn back to Neo when she said, “... And make sure you keep the door locked. Hey are you listening?”_

 

_“Huh?” Destiny said, before she said, “Oh, yeah! I’m okay, and I know, keep the door locked and don’t open it unless if it’s someone I know.”_

 

_“Good. I’ll see you later, alright?” Neo said, giving her a hug goodbye, as did Destiny._

 

_With that, Neo went out the door waving her goodbye, Destiny did the same thing. As soon as the door closed shut her look alike named Cristal had finally spoke, “It’s so nice to be out of that cramped room of yours, after being in there for like what two whole days. That’s basically a whole weekend.”_

 

_“You can’t just do that Cristal!” Destiny said to the teen._

 

_“Do what exactly?”_

 

_“Come out and start looking around while Neo was still here! What if she saw you?”_

 

_Cristal merely laughed at this, “Oh come on, that’s all you’re concerned about? It’s like I told you before, I can’t be seen or heard, as long as your eyes stay open. Do I really have to explain it to you again, for like the fifth time?”_

 

_“They might find it strange that there is just a random object floating in mid-air!” Destiny tried to explain, “It’s like something out of a horror film! Things like that don’t just happen!”_

 

_Cristal let out a sigh as she said to the little one, “You’re over reacting there Princess. You’ll never know how someone is going to react to floating objects.”_

 

_“Just please be more careful when they’re people around, especially if it’s my dad or Neo.” Destiny said to her, “The last thing I need is to come up with one crazy and believable excuse.”_

 

_Cristal laughed again, “Right, emphasis on the believable part.”_

 

_Destiny couldn’t help but make a pout to her, and Cristal stuck her tongue at her in a teasing way. Finally she started to take a look around the small apartment, looking at the living area and dining area even the kitchen. “Hmmm…” Cristal said, scratching underneath her chin, “Your home isn’t the fanciest of places, but I’ll admit, it’s not a bad half bad condo.”_

 

_Destiny tilted her slightly, confused by the word, “Con-what now?”_

 

_Cristal turned to the little girl giving her a really look. “Condo. You know… It’s another word for apartment. Your home.” Cristal explained. Destiny nodded in understanding, getting the meaning of what Cristal had told her._

 

_“Didn’t they teach you anything about this in school?” Cristal said._

 

_Destiny twiddled her thumbs at this, “I--Uh, I don’t go to school.”_

 

_“You don’t?” Cristal said, honestly surprised at this._

 

_Destiny shook her head to answer her question, “Dad says he doesn’t have money to get me into a good school. But he and Neo teach me sometimes.”_

 

_“Good to know.” She said._

 

_Cristal looked around her apartment again, picking up some objects examining before putting it back where she found them, “So, what do you usually do around here? Do you just sit around in this apartment?”_

 

_“Actually yeah.” Destiny replied, earning a surprised look from the teen look alike, “I’m not supposed to leave here, not without my dad or Neo.”_

 

_“Why is that?”_

 

_“Dad said that they’re bad people, that would try to hurt me. He said that because of that, I’m his secret. And secrets are meant to be kept safe.”_

 

_“Well he isn’t wrong about there being bad people, though I don’t think him being a thief counts him as a good person. That and it didn’t stop you from following that little rabbit which made me.”_

 

_“That’s different though. He said he does it for the both of us. He may seem like a bad guy to other people but he’s a really good person I swear. That and I was curious.”_

 

_“Don’t worry I’ll take your word for it. After all I’ve got some of your memories and I was there remember?”_

 

_Destiny laughed nervously at this before rubbing the back of her neck. Cristal made her way over to the couch and took a seat, kicking up her feet on the coffee table that sat in front of it. “What do you besides sitting in this tiny old apartment? Like what do you usually do for fun?”_

 

_Destiny thought about it, before she went over to the shelves. She took out two video games, a single movie; her favorite coloring books and a giant book that had stories and fairytales and even books on jewelry; She placed it on the coffee table. “Everything here is what I mostly do to pass the time.” Destiny said._

 

_Cristal started to look through the pile, picking up the coloring books, “Really? You still use these?”_

 

_“What? I like to color.” Destiny said, “And it’s sort of a worry habit. When I get worried about something I start coloring.”_

 

_“That must explain why you have about fifty of these.” Cristal said looking over at the shelf to see at least ten more coloring books. She threw them on the coffee table, and looked through the pile some more. She picked up two video game cartridges. They both read Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Slayer, though the second one had the number two on it._

 

_“You like fighting games?” Cristal said, “You didn’t strike me as one that likes this kind of stuff.”_

 

_“It is fun, I’ll admit to that.” Destiny said, “Dad got it for me for Christmas.”_

 

_Cristal said to her, “Hmm, you don’t have a bad taste in when it comes to video games. Maybe later you can show me some combos.”_

 

_She placed the video games back on the table before turning her attention to a book on jewelry; she saw that some of the pages were bookmarked. She turned to the pages that were bookmarked and saw that the pages were on bracelets. She noticed that the bookmark was of a folded paper._

 

_“What’s this?” She said reaching for it._

 

_“Wa--wait!” Destiny stammered, her face turning red slightly, “Don’t look! I’m not finished with it yet!”_

 

_Cristal didn’t listen as she unfolded the paper; she soon saw it was concept art of a beaded bracelet. She was left impressed by it._

 

_“You drew this yourself?” Cristal said, left impressed by it._

 

_“It--it’s not very good.” Destiny said embarrassed._

 

_She noticed the title of the bracelet at the right corner of the paper. “The Victory Bracelet?” She read._

 

_“It’s um…” Destiny stammered, “It’s for Huntsmen and Huntresses. It’s supposed to give them good luck in battles. It sounds kind of stupid, huh?”_

 

_“No, I actually think it’s a good idea.” Cristal said, Destiny’s expression brightened at this, “This is a hobby of yours?”_

 

_“I guess you can call it that.” Destiny replied, “I’m hoping I can sell these one day, to help out dad. But I’m still working out a few ideas.”_

 

_“It’s not bad Princess.” Cristal said ruffling her hair a bit, “You’ve got talent.”_

 

_Cristal folded up the paper and placed it back in the book before closing it. She looked and saw a movie that read, “‘The Girl in the Tower’. “A movie based off a book.” Cristal said._

 

_“It’s a really good film.” Destiny said, before giving her a quizzical look “Wait, you know the book?”_

 

_“Of course.” She replied, “You don’t think we’re made without knowing anything do you?”_

 

_Destiny became interested at this; She sat down on the couch next to Cristal, and crossed her legs pretzel style. “Wow, look who’s curious.” Cristal said._

 

_“Of course I’m curious.” Destiny said, “You didn’t say that you actually knew things, when you were made.”_

 

_“That’s because you didn’t ask before.” Cristal said to her, “Though I don’t know just about the stories, I know a lot of things about Remnant, some that have already been forgotten.”_

 

_“Really?”_

 

_“Really.”_

__  
  
“You know a lot of things?”

 

_“Yep.”_

 

_“Than can you prove it?”_

 

_Cristal gasped dramatically at this while putting a hand over her heart, as if she was stabbed, “Can I prove it--Of course I can prove it to you. Just ask me anything.” Destiny tried to think of something to ask Cristal as she tilted her head back and forth. Though no matter what she tried, she couldn’t think of a question. “You can’t think of one, can’t you?” Cristal said._

 

_“No offense, but what am I supposed to ask you?” Destiny said, “I have so many questions, but I don’t know… I still find it hard to believe that you know things about Remnant.”_

 

_“You doubt that I do?”_

 

_“Part of me does, honestly… But the other part of me does believe you.”_

 

_Cristal sat there in silence for a few moments, “I got it. How about I ask you a question?”_

 

_“Ask me one?” Destiny asked curiously, “What good will that do?”_

 

_“Well…” Cristal started to reply, “.... That way I can prove it to. By telling you something, only I could know.”_

 

_Destiny thought about what she was saying and after some thinking she did make sense of it all. It would prove to her if Cristal did know what she say. She eventually answered, “Okay, what’s your question?”_

 

_“Great!” Cristal said, before rubbing her chin again, “Hmm, let’s see, what shall your question shall be…?”_

 

_Cristal looked upon the coffee table again, and saw the giant book that was simply titled, “The Tales of Remnant”.  Cristal smiled as she thought of a question for Destiny, “What’s one of your favorite stories that your dad reads to you before bed?”_

 

_Destiny wondered as to what she meant by the question until she realized she was referring to the book on the coffee table. Cristal saw her reach for the book and put it on her lap and flipped through the pages until she stopped at a certain spot in the book. “This one.” Destiny said pointing to the page tilting the book slightly to Cristal._

 

_Cristal looked upon the cover page of the book. It was of an elder man, a Wizard by the look of it, and around him was a colored leaf, a snowflake, a sun, and a snowflake; the man in the picture had a happy look on his face as he had his own arms around him. The title had read--_

 

_“The Story of the Seasons.” Cristal said with a smile, “This one is a classic.”_

 

_Destiny smiled and nodded, “Ever since dad first read it to me I’ve been in love with this story. Every chance I get I ask him to read it to me. No matter how many times I hear it, it always makes me happy for the Wizard in the story.”_

 

_“I’ll say.” The teen look alike agreed, “It is a pretty good tale to tell to children like you. But…”_

 

_Destiny looked at Cristal giving her a quizzical look, “But?”_

 

_Cristal smiled again, as she turned to the child, “But what if I were to tell you… The Story of the Seasons is real?”_

 

_Destiny’s eyes widened slightly at this by her words. A fairytale, something like the Story of Seasons is real? It was just unbelievable. “Are…” Destiny stuttered, “Are you serious?”_

 

_Cristal nodded at this, at one point putting a finger to her lips, “Yeah. This is as real as you, your father and me. But it’s a little secret, not everyone in Remnant knows about them. I mean, they used to, but not anymore.”_

 

_“How come?”_

 

_“Because stories go as stories go throughout the centuries. They fade into legend and myth. Stories like the Efah for example.”_

 

_“They’re actually real? The Maidens, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall? They’re all real?”_

 

_“Yeah, though they don’t exactly look like the ladies in this story. They may seem different, but they’re real. You’ve met one of them yourself, from what I saw through your treasured memories as I was in the process of being made.”_

 

 _Destiny was confused to what she was talking about until realized what she meant, “You mean…_ **_Miss Amber_ ** _?”_

 

_Cristal nodded her head._

 

_“You mean she’s a…”_

 

_“Oh yeah.”_

 

_Destiny’s eyes brightened at this and she couldn’t help but squee. That same beautiful lady she met from that time when she had gotten separated from her father in the storm, was actually one of the Maidens from the story. She found hard to believe but at the same time incredible that she met such a person! She was at a loss for words really._

 

 _“That’s--_ **_WOW OH MY GOSH!_ ** _” Destiny said, “That’s amazing! I’d never thought I--I mean, I wished the story was real so I could meet one of them, but I didn’t think--!”_

 

_Cristal chuckled at the way Destiny acted, “It’s not everyday you get to meet someone from a fairytale.”_

 

_“I can’t believe it, they’re actually real!” Destiny said jumping out of her seat from the couch; Cristal taking the book from her before she jumped from her seat; she laughed as she twirled around, “I met one of them! I actually met one of them! This is--This is unbelievable! It’s a real dream come true!”_

 

_“Well you better believe it, you’ve met one of them.” Cristal said, “But I’ll tell you something else about this little fairytale…”_

 

_Destiny stopped moving; she turned to Cristal seeing how as the teen got her attention. Cristal sat forward in her seat on the couch, putting the book to the side. “This is a little something that is so long forgotten, in fact, only a few selected people know about it, fewer than those who know about the Maidens existence really.”_

 

_“Wha… What do you mean?” Destiny asked._

 

 _Cristal saw on the coffee table that there was a note pad, and a pen. She took the note pad and pen and started to draw. “What if I told you that there is a second story to the Maidens. That mentions… There is a_ ** _fifth_** **_maiden_** _?”_

 

_Destiny was left stunned at this. “A fifth maiden?” Destiny repeated, “But… They’re only Four Maidens in the story, because they’re only four seasons. How can their be a fifth one?”_

 

_“That’s because this Maiden is not any of the seasons.” Cristal said, “It’s true that there can only be four seasons but her, in a way you can say she was an unexpected result. And like Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, she has her own title.”_

 

_She soon placed the pen down, and showed Destiny the picture she drew. It was of the symbols of the seasons, but only one had the symbol what looked like a wolf that was of a silhouette image; of course it stood out from the rest of them since that definitely didn’t represent any season._

 

_“Is that… A wolf?” Destiny said._

 

_“Yup.” Cristal replied, “Do you know why they choose a wolf to represent the Fifth Maiden?”_

 

_Destiny shook her head._

 

_“Wolves stay in packs, practically everyone knows that and I know you know it; they do this in order to survive in the world.” Cristal told her, “But sometimes in some cases, a single wolf will go on it’s own when it decides it’s too good for its own pack. This symbol, when Maidens were still known represented her, because in a way, she is like that wolf who left.”_

 

_“What does that mean?” Destiny asked._

 

_Cristal placed the note pad on the table as she sat back in her seat. She looked around, before whispering to the young girl before her._

 

 _“... The Fifth Maiden… Is also known as,_ **_the Rogue Maiden_ ** . _”_

* * *

  _(_ ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** _)_

 

 _-_ ** _Present; Atlas, Schnee Mansion_ ** _-_

 

After the charity event had died down, everyone was sent home early, and everyone in the Schnee family had gone back to their home. It was late at night when they returned, and the twins had already fallen asleep, while Jaques had individually apologized to the people about how Weiss was, and he had his servants take them to their room, while Weiss went to her own room to have a little talk with her Father.

 

Weiss sat at her bed with her hands folded as Jacques paced around the room.

 

“Unbelievable!” Jacques said at one point stopping to turn to her, “Absolutely unbelievable! Do you have any idea what your stunt cost us!”

 

“I--” Weiss tried to say before getting cut off.

 

“And don’t think I’m just talking about Lien here!” Jacques said, “Our reputation! Our… Our…”

 

Jacques stopped himself and just let out an annoyed grunt. Weiss took a deep breath before saying, “I want to leave.”

 

Jacques turned to his daughter, “I beg your pardon?”

 

“I said I want to leave.” Weiss said, “I don’t want to stay here anymore. I don’t want to stay in **_Atlas_ ** anymore!”

 

“Young lady, I don’t give a damn about what you want!” Jacques said to her, “This isn’t about **_you_ **. This is about the Schnee family name and your apparent insistence on dragging it through the mud!”

 

Weiss felt offended by this and yelled, “Excuse me? I have done **_nothing_ ** but fight to uphold the honor of **_my_ ** family name! A name that **_you_ ** married into!”

 

Weiss let out a sudden gasp when she felt her head forcefully turn to the side because her father had slapped her. She brought her hand to her cheek and looked up at Jacques, having an incredulous look, while her father held a stern look to her. He spoke again, his voice calm but had an intimidation in his voice, “This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing. You couldn’t possibly understand the lengths I’ve gone through in order to keep this family where it is. You think running like sister is going to make you a stronger Schnee? You’re wrong. Siding with her would only divide us.”

 

“I’m not siding with anyone!” Weiss said to him, “I’m doing what I feel is right, and it does **_not_ ** include wasting my time here with these clueless people here in Atlas! The Schnee family legacy isn’t yours to leave! **_It’s mine_ ** , and I’ll do it as a Huntress!”

 

Jacques rolled his eyes before saying, “No… You won’t. You’re not leaving Atlas. You’re not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You are going to remain here, out of sight, and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future.”

 

Weiss eyes widened in disbelief at this, at what her father was saying. Hell she couldn’t exactly believe it what he was even suggesting it. “What!?” Weiss exclaimed, “You can’t be serious!”

 

Jacques said to her, “Your presupposition that can simply have whatever it is you want. It’s a clear sign of our failure as parents. But from now on, I’ll be giving you the full attention you require, starting by keeping you where I can see you.”

 

Weiss couldn’t believe it! He was actually suggesting it! At this point she hated her father even more when he was just thinking about something like this.

 

“You can’t just keep me from leaving!” Weiss yelled.

 

“I can.” Jacques said, “And the staff here will make sure of it.”

 

“Am I supposed to be your prisoner now!?”

 

“You are my daughter. You’re a child, and children are grounded when they misbehave.”

 

“This is only going to make things worse Father! People will start asking questions! They’ll want to why the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found!”

 

“Which is why you’re no longer the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.”

 

At this point her jaw had just dropped, at her Father’s words. Now she sweared, he was talking crazy right now; she thought he was driven insane by it.

 

“Excuse me?” Weiss said.

 

“Clearly the trauma you’ve endured at Beacon was too much for you.” Jacques stated, “Which is why you’ve generally revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it onto your **_brother_ **.” Weiss tried to digest what she was hearing exactly. She didn’t want to believe this was real, believe what she was hearing. She wanted to believe that it was all just a dream.

 

“It's time to wake up and face reality.” Jacques said.

 

With that he took his leave; just as she saw him walk out of the door, she saw her younger brother Whitley, there, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation. She ran outside of her room, when she saw him leave. “ **WHITELY!** ” She yelled. He stopped in his tracks and turned to her.

 

“Yes sister?” Whitely said, “What is it?”

 

Weiss walked up to him, she crossed her arms “Did you know about this?”

 

“About what?” Whitely asked.

 

“You never liked Winter, and you never liked me.” Weiss said, “But you’ve been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back!”

 

“If being kind to my sister is some sort of crime, then I suppose I’m guilty.” Whitley said.

 

Weiss was left confused by this, until she put it all together; her eyes widened in realization, “ ** _You wanted this to happen._ ** ”

 

As Whitley spoke again, his face went from innocent to threatening in an instant, “It’s foolish not to do what father asks.”

 

“I…” Weiss stuttered, “I can’t believe you.”

 

“Don’t worry Weiss.” Whitley said with a smile, “The Schnee family name is good hands.”

 

Whitley turned and walked with his hands behind his back, down the large hallway while Weiss just stood there stunned. Weiss had run back to her room and ran to her bed. She fell face first and she had started to cry, burying her head in the sheets. All she wanted was for everything right now to be a dream; she wanted to wake up, and find herself back in Beacon with her team. She wanted to be back with Destiny, a girl that made her and the team happy. All she wanted was for things to go back to the way they were; but things couldn’t go back. She knew that herself and it made her all the more upset.

 

She was focused on her thoughts she didn’t notice that someone had entered in the room, and sat at her bed.

 

“I take it that things didn’t go well with your father.”

 

Weiss picked up her head, and she saw a familiar orange hair girl wearing black vest with a white and red collared shirt, and a dark gray skirt with black tights.

 

“Azure…?” Weiss said, somewhat shocked, “... You… You're here…?”

 

“I’m only here on business for my mother.” Azure said to her, “She’s kept busy with her work, and instead of coming down here herself, she sent me on official business.”

 

Weiss didn’t say anything she just buried her head back into the bedsheets. “I… Heard yelling from your father.” Azure said, “And I heard your brother and you talking.”

 

Weiss didn’t say anything she continued to cry her eyes out.

 

“I think it’s cruel for what your father decided.” Azure said, “It doesn’t give them the right to decide on what should be done.”

 

Weiss picked up her head and turned to her.

 

“Your father and your brother--” Azure said before cutting herself off, “No, I don’t think they deserve that title. They’re as cruel as the ones talking about Vale, as if they deserved it. What’s worse, people like Jacques, like Whitley only care about themselves. They don’t care about others not even their own family.”

 

Weiss sat herself up and wiped away her tears, taking note of a sneer in her words, “... I take it you have some people other than your mother back where you live?”

 

Azure eventually replied, “... I have sisters like you. Three of them. Each of us look out for one another, and we have each others backs. Our mothers business, is **_rough_ ** as one would say, but despite all that we protect each other, and that’s how we survive. It seems like your younger sisters are looking out for you as well.”

 

“Ye--yeah.” Weiss said, “They’ve been like that ever since I got back.”

 

“The way I see it they’re the only ones you can count on now.” Azure said, “They seem to look up to you. In times like this, you have to set an example for them. Maybe they’ll even help you on what you should do on one question. Are you a Huntress… **_Or a puppet on strings_ **?”

 

Weiss left almost surprised to hear something like that from this her. She had just met her a couple of hours ago at least and she was giving her advice on what she should do. It did help her to feel better, but she didn’t understand why she would want to. Before Weiss could ask, a faint ringing from within the room. Azure went through her skirt pocket and took out her scroll that was colored in black, the ringing had gotten louder slightly. She read the caller ID.

 

“You’ll have to excuse me, I need to take this.” Azure said standing up from her seat, “It’s nice talking to you again Weiss. Pleasant dreams.”

 

With that Azure took her leave taking whatever the call was, shutting the door gently behind her. Weiss looked to the door, than down at her bracelet. Weiss didn’t want to have this life anymore, she didn’t want to be stuck in a dollhouse anymore. No longer would she live under her father's heel. With a determined look on her face she got up from her bed and went to shut the curtains, she moved the bed several feet from where it once stood as well as several other furniture. She soon picked up a box that had a snowflake on it, and she placed it on the coffee table that sat in her room.

 

She opened the box to reveal her weapon; her Myrtenaster and her Dust vials. Taking the weapon she held it up to her face holding it vertically.

* * *

 - ** _Oniyuri_** -

 

No one could actually believe their eyes to who they saw that had just saved Ruby. The famous Uncle and father to who they would mention every now and again in conversations around the campfire almost every night. And now here he was standing before them, in front of Ruby before she had taken a serious blow from Tyrian’s tail.

 

Still holding onto his leverage, Cristal, Tyrian jumped back to where Diamond and Elise stood; Qrow turned around with his sword.

 

Diamond took a closer look at his weapon, specifically his logo, “Your logo, and that weapon… Your him, the famous Huntsman aren’t you?”

 

“Ha, as I live and breath!” Tyrian said, his tail going around Cristal, lifting the unconscious girl higher above the ground, “Melody’s famous father… Qrow Branwen.” He bowed his head to him, “A true Huntsman has entered the fray.” Melody went over to Ruby to help her up and picked up her Crescent Rose, while Neo picked Roman up off the ground. It wasn’t long till Ruby and Melody noticed Qrow giving them a questioning look.

 

“Don’t look at us.” Melody said with a shrug.

 

“This guy is weird.” Ruby added.

 

Qrow looked back to Tyrian, Diamond and Elise. “Look pal.” He said, “I’m not sure who you or your friends are, but you three need to leave my niece alone, and let the girl go.”

 

Tyrian chuckled, “Why friend our names are Tyrian, Diamond and Elise. And I’m afraid what you want is not possible.”

 

Elise soon added, “Our task from the Mistress was to retrieve both Cristal and her. And we will not fail.”

 

“As she said, that is what we must do.” Tyrian said, “One does not upset **_the Queen_ **.”

 

The group gave a look of confusion at the term Queen. It sounded strange to them really.

 

“Your Queen?” Melody said.

 

“ ** _Salem_ **.” They suddenly heard Qrow say aloud, which had confused them all the more. “Salem?” The whole group said in unison.

 

“Who’s Salem?” Ruby asked.

 

“I think we’ve had enough talk now, don’t you?” Tyrian said to Qrow. Another clawed hand grew from Diamond’s back and reached for Cristal; his tail uncurled and allowed the girl to fall into it’s palm. The clawed hand gripped her tightly and Diamond took a step back.

 

Elise armed herself while Tyrian crouched like a predator would to a prey.

 

“You took the words right out of--”

 

Before Qrow could finish, both Tyrian and Elise charged at him suddenly, nearly catching him by surprise. Blades had begun to clash as they attacked one another and most of the attacks were dodged back and forth. Eventually Elise and Tyrian flew back from his attack. Elise charged at Qrow first swinging her axe; Qrow blocked her attack with his sword, though while he was distracted by her, Tyrian went to strike. He used his stinger to attack Qrow, though he was quick to dodge his stinger. He kicked Tyrian and Elise back, though she charged again. Qrow manage to get the upperhand, and went to attack her with his sword.

 

Tyrian managed to get in front of her and blocked his attack. The impact from it caused the a building nearby to break, leaving him and Elise impressed; Qrow smirked, but Tyrian did as well. With a click, he activated a bullet capacity, and started to fire, causing Qrow to jump back; Tyrian and Elise jumped back as well. Elise switched to her gun, and they started to circle Qrow as they fired on him. Qrow blocked their bullets but the group saw that he was struggling.

 

Rosario, Ren, Nora, and Scout went to go and assist him. Tyrian bent his back and licked his lips suddenly causing them to flinch slightly. He went to attack the four of them and after a few simple hits they flew back easily, towards the rest of the group. Tyrian went to run towards Ruby and Melody, but after Qrow made Elise stumble he quickly intervened.

 

“ **DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!** ” Qrow yelled to them before he engaged Tyrian and Elise again.

 

“He’s not going to last long against them.” Melody said, “We have to help him.”

 

“What about Cristal?” Jaune said, “We still need to help her!”

 

“I’ll take care of it.” Rosario said.

 

The group seemed shocked at what Rosario said. “You’re gonna take her on by yourself?” Nora said.

 

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Ren asked.

 

“With all due respect, she’s my partner.” Rosario said, “And I won’t just abandon her. Beside I think I have a good idea on how to take her out.”

 

“You won’t be fighting alone.” Neo said taking Rosario by surprise, “I’ll help you too.”

 

“Don’t you have to take care of him?” Rosario asked, gesturing to Roman.

 

Neo looked over at Roman, who was still unconscious and giving out raspy breaths. “He would’ve done the same if I were in this position.” Neo said turning back to Rosario, “Besides, he’ll forgive me for doing this.”

 

Rosario grunted annoyingly and said, “I can’t make any promises that one of my bullets might hit you.”

 

“Fair enough.” Neo said with a smirk.

 

Rosario turned to the rest, “Does anyone have any objections?”

 

The group gave an unsure look to Rosario and Neo but they had eventually they all shook their head. Ruby than spoke up, “Melody and I will help out Qrow, however we can.”

 

“You sure you can still fight?” Melody asked with concern.

 

“Yeah, he didn’t get me too bad.” Ruby reassured her, removing her arm around Melody’s shoulder; She handed her the Crescent Rose, and Scout handed Melody hers ( ** _She picked up her weapon earlier_** ). Ruby turned to Jaune, “You think you’ll be okay taking on Elise?”

 

Jaune replied, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

 

“Okay, Nora, Ren, Scout take care of Roman, get him somewhere safe.” Ruby said.

 

The three of them nodded and went to do just that once Neo handed him over to them. The rest of them, went to do what they had to do. Rosario and Neo caught Diamond by surprise, Jaune got Elise’s attention and they engaged. “Ruby, go high!” Melody said, as her hand blade formed a scythe. Ruby nodded and quickly went towards the towers and on the rooftop; she went to sniper position and watched as Melody went to engage in the fight with Qrow and Tyrian.

 

Ruby tried to get a shot but was having difficulty because of how fast they were moving. Melody jumped into the fight swinging her scythe at Tyrian, though he dodged her blade with ease as did her father. Though at one point in the fight, he was able to knock Melody off of her feet making her let go of her weapon as she landed on the ground. As he went to strike Qrow got in between them and Tyrian saw an opening; He wrapped his tail around his wrist and yanked hard, causing his weapon to fly to the wall just opposite where they stood. Melody stood up and was about to rush Tyrian though Qrow stopped her before she could.

 

Tyrian stood up slumping forward, and laughing, that is until a bullet passed right by him leaving him perplexed, making him turn to where the bullet landed. All he did was smile at this as his tail blocked the bullets Ruby fired from a distance.

 

Qrow looked at his fist and shrugged; he threw a punch at Tyrian, catching him by surprise. He continued to throw punches across the face against Tyrian, until finally he kicked him and he lost his footing. Tyrian fell on his back but he managed to steady himself slightly. Qrow simply walked over to his weapon while Tyrian just sat there, and Ruby and Melody couldn’t help as to wonder why Tyrian was just sitting there.

 

As soon as Qrow touched the weapon, Tyrian went to strike; The Huntsman dodged quickly and activated his scythe mode, firing a round, making him fly back, balancing on the wooden beam.

 

Tyrian charged at Qrow once more.

* * *

 Despite Diamond holding onto to Senka and Cristal she was able to fend herself against Rosario and Neo as they came to attack her. Neo threw her kicks and flipped back when she went to attacked with her bladed fans. Neo went at her arming the blade on her umbrella; she went at her, trying to land a hit on her, but she only gave a few mild cuts. Diamond folded up the man on her left hand and it formed a large blade; she started to rush at Neo, trying to hit her in the face. Neo moved with ease as she went at her with her blade.

 

While Diamond was left distracted, Rosario was up on the rooftops keeping low, eyeing Cristal and her downed Griffon. She looked around her surrounds and found some poles she could bounce off of.

 

“I’ll have to help Senka first.” Rosario said to herself. She armed the blade on her leg and quickly started to move while Diamond was kept busy. Rosario ran along the rooftops and with a leap she jumped and leaped off of the poles; she spun and the blade cut the clawed hand clean through. Diamond cried out in agony when the limb was cut off, and screamed when Neo’s blade went right through her shoulder. Neo removed the blade swiftly and Diamond staggered backwards.

 

“ ** _YOU SON OF A--!_ ** ” Diamond yelled before she was suddenly cut off, courtesy of Senka. He charged at her and rammed her with his head, making her fly, and the limb that still held onto to Cristal extended. Before Diamond landed on the ground her feet suddenly hovered and she touched the ground gently, courtesy of her Grimm Partner, Avira.

 

Diamond turned to Cristal before looking back to them, “ _Don’t think, I’m going to let you do that the a second time…_ ”

 

Just like that, another black clawed hand grew out of her back, but this time the hand went into a pillar nearby, making a new weapon. She swung at the both of them but they were able to dodge with ease; the impact from Diamonds new limb caused some of the buildings around them to shatter. Rosario, and Neo managed to gain some distance from her, before Diamond rushed at them again.

 

“You wouldn’t happen to have a second plan of action do you?” Neo said.

 

“I’m working on it!” Rosario said to her, before they jumped out of the way again.

* * *

 Elise and Jaune went at each other for awhile keeping up with a pattern. Blades clashed with each other, and they tried to attack each other but blades kept clashing. Jaune still couldn’t believe who he was fighting, a girl with the same face as Pyrrha, and she even had the same movements as her despite her wielding an axe. Though her knew it wasn’t her, no matter what it wasn’t. She was a Shadow like Cristal was. He wouldn’t let a face distract him from the fight.

 

Once more the blades clashed, and at one point, Elise had the axe blade close to Jaune’s face, though he was able to block her with his shield.

 

“Why are you after Ruby and Cristal?!” Jaune said, “Why do you want them!?”

 

“If Cristal told you about the contract, than you know perfectly well that I can’t answer that.” Elise said to him, “It wouldn’t matter if I told you regardless, either way you and your friends will end up dead.”

 

“I won’t let you do that!” Jaune exclaimed, before swing his sword to her. Elise lifted her hand and his sword suddenly stopped. Jaune struggled to move, but was quick to realize that she was using her polarity again. He soon felt himself lifted him up off the ground and he was thrown up onto the roof of a tower; Elise ran along the building wall and got onto tower’s roof. Elise charged at Jaune with her axe blade. She had almost hit him, but he quickly rolled and countered, giving a cut on her cheek just under her mask.

 

Jaune rushed her with his shield and he caught her off guard, making her fall back. She regained her footing and fired a round at Jaune though her was able to block the blast with his shield. As they continued to fight, they didn’t realize that that floor under them had started to weaken as they rushed at one another over and over again.

 

Everytime Jaune got close, Elise would stop his blade with her polarity and pushed him back, before rushing at him again. Finally they got some distance from one another, and that’s when Jaune heard a loud cracking sound. He looked down and saw that under his feet he saw the floor had started to give, and any minute now it would fall apart. Jaune’s eyes widened in horror, it wasn’t long before he saw Elise charge at him again.

 

“ **NO WAIT!** ” He yelled to Elise, trying to stop her.

 

With one wrong step Elise suddenly through the floor when it gave out, and Jaune ended falling too. The both of them couldn’t help but scream as they fell into darkness. From a distance Nora, and Ren recognized the screaming to be from Jaune.

 

“That was Jaune just now!” Nora said with worry.

 

“It sounds like he’s in trouble!” Ren said, “We have to get to him.”

 

Nora looked to Roman who groaned unconsciously from the pain of his wound, from the stinger that Tyrian used against him earlier, “But what about him? We said we would look after him.” Ren was about to say something but him and Nora felt Scout’s hands over them. She said to them with a reassured smile, “I’ll take care of Roman. Go and help your friend.”

 

Ren and Nora both looked at one another before they turned back to Scout and nodded. They stood up and ran to where they heard Jaune’s scream. They soon got one of the towers where the roof had collapsed. Nora and Ren quickly jumped along the rooftops surrounding the area, till they got to what was left of the roof.

 

“ **JAUNE!** ” Nora yelled, “ **JAUNE WHERE ARE YOU!?** ”  

 

“ **CAN YOU HEAR US!?** ” Ren yelled after.

 

Soon enough they saw a pair of hands with a sword and shield reached out of the hole of the roof, and pull himself up. It was revealed to be Jaune. “Guys help me up!” Jaune said as he was struggling to hang on. Ren and Nora ran over to him, and quickly pulled him up. “Are you okay?” Nora asked.

 

“What happened?” Ren asked soon after.

 

“I’m fine.” Jaune replied, dusting himself off, “The roof gave out, while we were fighting. I managed to grab a hold of a wooden beam just in time.”

 

Nora and Ren looked around the area and saw that Elise was missing. “What happened to that girl?” Ren asked.

 

Jaune looked back to where they were fighting, “I--I don't know. I think she fell in.”

 

“Do you think she’s alive…?” Nora asked worried, “If she’s like Cristal… She won’t have aura to protect herself from a fall like that…”

 

Jaune stuttered at his words slightly as he replied, “I--I'm sure. I didn’t see where she fell too.” They soon heard booming sounds and the sound of blades clashing in the distance. They knew it could be from the others. “We have to get back to them.” Ren said, “They need us.”

 

“But what about her?” Nora asked referring to Elise who maybe still within the partly collapsed building, “We can’t leave her here…”

 

Jaune said as he took a deep breath, “We’re going to have to come back for her later. Right now they need us. Let’s help Rosario and Neo with Diamond.” Ren and Nora nodded, and they quickly moved off the rooftops and towards where the booming sounds were.  

* * *

 Rosario and Neo continued to dodge and fire onto Diamond as she tried to hit them with her stone arm.But the fight soon came to a complete halt when they heard the sound of a scream and something break nearby. Diamond recognized the second scream belonging to Elise.

 

“ _What did your people do to her?!_ ” Diamond said to Neo and Rosario to a glare.

 

Rosario and Neo stood in their place and said nothing at first. Diamonds hand suddenly changed into a Beowolf claw causing them to back up slightly. “ _If I find her dead… My sisters and I will torture the both of you until the two of you start begging us to put you out of your misery…_ ” Diamond said going dangerously close to them.

 

“Whoa, whoa, hey listen.” Neo said with a calm voice, “We’re not sure what happened, to her okay? Our friend may be with her but we heard him scream too, so--”

 

“ _Don’t play games with me._ ” Diamond said.

 

“We’re not okay? We’re not.” Rosario said to her before pointing out, “You know this is something I noticed with Cristal earlier, and the state that you put her in. You know you get so angry, you forget about the little things that are around you.”

 

“ _Really?_ ” Diamond said amusingly, “ _Like what?_ ”

 

Neo shrugged, “I don’t know… **_Like maybe the fact that you’re just talking to illusions?_ ** ”

 

Diamonds eyes widened slightly at this before she felt something impact her face, causing her mouth mask to fall off courtesy of Rosario who kicked her across the face; when she looked back, she saw that the supposed Rosario and Neo were; Diamond tried to fight back, but Rosario quickly apprehended her, and pinned her “ **NEO NOW!** ” Rosario yelled.

 

Neo riding on Senka’s back flew towards, and used her hidden gun in her sleeve, and fired at the black claw hand holding Cristal. She fired several rounds onto the wrist of the claw hand, causing Diamond to cry out in agony, and the claw hand forced to drop Cristal. Neo jumped from Senka and caught Cristal before she could hit the ground.

 

“ **I’VE GOT HER! LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!** ” Neo yelled. Rosario nodded before turning back to Diamond, “Pleasure doing business with you.” She said. Diamond growled at her, though Rosario kicked her, across the face, keeping her on the ground. Rosario started to run as did Neo and Senka. Diamond quickly stood up but fell from the fall; her eye changed back to a blind eye, and her nose started to bleed. “Avira…” Diamond said through gritted teeth, “Take them out. Get Cristal back.” Dimond stood up and quickly went through the alleyway of the old abandoned town.

 

From a distance, Rosario and Neo saw a Geist come out from Diamonds back; it went into a pile of rocks, creating a body, before it started to run towards them as they saw Diamond stagger away.

 

“ **ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?** ” Rosario exclaimed as she ran with a slight limp, “ **SHE HAD A GEIST LIVING INSIDE HER!? THAT’S INSANE!** ”

 

“ **WELL SHE IS LIKE CRISTAL, WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING?!** ” Neo yelled.

 

“ **SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE A GEIST THAT’S FOR SURE!** ” Rosario yelled back.

 

The Geist now in a rock body charged at the two of; Senka quickly acted and charged at the Geist pinning him to the ground. They started to go at it each other, each of them taking hits at one another.

 

“Wow…” Rosario said stunned, “Two Grimms fighting each other. I never thought I’d see the day.”

 

“No kidding…” Neo said.

 

Soon enough, Jaune, Ren and Nora came around the corner. “Guys!” Jaune said before noticing Cristal was with them, “You got her back!”

 

“Is she okay?” Nora asked.

 

Rosario nodded, “She’s okay… Weak but okay.”

 

“Where’s the other one?” Neo said, “What’s her name, Elise?”

 

Ren replied, “She fell into the building back there. We’re not sure if she’s alive.”

 

“Let’s get her back with the others.” Jaune said, “They may need help.”

 

Both Rosario and Neo nodded their heads and they quickly moved, taking Cristal with them; they moved back to where Ruby, and the others were.

* * *

 Elise slowly came too when she felt something hit her head. She found herself surrounded in a dark area with only the light from above providing the only source. Her memory came back to her when she realized that she fell inside the tower that she and Jaune were fighting. She tried to move but groaned slightly when she felt a sudden pain in her arm. She looked and saw that their was a sharp piece of wood wedged into her elbow. She sat herself up, taking note that her leg had been broken from the fall.

 

She reached for the shrapnel in the elbow, and bit on her sleeve as she groaned in agony when her fingers made contact. She removed it swiftly this and threw it to the side as her screams were muffled. She heard whispers from Orpheus asking her if she was alright.

 

“... I’ll be fine.” She said to Orpheus, “... I’ve survived worse. Find Diamond. Tell her I’m here and I need assistance.”

 

Orpheus left her body and moved out of the building going to do what Elise told him to do. She sat against a pillar nearby holding her arm, as she felt sharp pains course her body. She shut her eyes and--

 

“ _Alright Jaune, now just like we practiced. Follow these instructions…_ ”

 

She shot her eyes open when she heard a sudden voice echo throughout the room she was in, which left her perplexed. She looked around the room as the voice continued to speak; Her head hurt slightly.

 

“I’ve… **_Heard that voice before…_ ** ”

 

She stood up, using the pillar behind her as leverage to help herself stand up. She looked around as she moved with a slight limp, while holding her leg firmly as she tried looking for the source. It wasn’t long till she saw a faint glow just within the darkness. She moved towards it, and soon saw that it was from a scroll that had been cracked most likely from the impact. She went and picked up the scroll from the ground to get a closer look at the video. The girl had the same face as her, but she had red hair instead of black and her outfit was different from hers.

 

“Is this… **_Pyrrha_ ** …?”

 

Elise felt a throb in her head as the video continued; she shook off the pain. As the pain came and went, she saw images, images that were unclear. All she could make out was, she was in someone else's perspective, as the images came and went.

 

She groaned as she shook her head, as an attempt to get rid of the pain, “Damn it…! What the hell was--!?”

 

“ _Pyra! Pyra!_ ”

 

Elise turned her attention back to the video, and there she saw a familiar child come into the video, jumping onto Pyrrha’s back. Elise tilted her head slightly as she watched them both laugh.

 

_“I found you Pyra!”_

 

_“You certainly did…”_

 

Elise watched with curious eyes as she watched the two of them interact with each other. Though she couldn’t but only find one thing that she found that was out of place, something, that she found… Strange…

 

“ **_... Py… Ra…?_ ** ”

 

Suddenly, a loud, painful ring echoed through her head, threatening to turn her brain to soup; not only that, her chest had started to hurt, when her head started to ring, as if someone was driving a blade right through. She let out a painful cry as she dropped the scroll and fell to her knees clutching her head, and the fabric of her shirt. Mixed images and voices started to echo all around her as the ringing was heard.

 

“ ** _*****? Do you have any spots left on your team?_ ** ”

 

“ ** _*****, I know your having difficulty in class, but I want to help you!_ ** ”

 

“ **_... I’ll always be here for you *****..._ ** ”

 

“ ** _That one looks like a sheep! And that one looks like a little bunny!_ ** ”

 

“ ** _... I see a Huntsman tap dancing through a meadow._ ** ”

 

“ ** _What? No way, where do you see that ****?_ ** ”

 

“ ** _You guys will always be my friends right? You’ll never break apart right?”_ **

 

 **_“... *******... Thank you…_ ** _”_

 

The images kept appearing again and again, each one being different from the last, and the ringing sound only got louder and louder. Elise screamed from the pain, literally ripping off her mask and tossing it to the side. She dug her nails through her scalp, not caring if she got blood in her nails in the process. She fell to her side clutching her chest even harder. A faint glow began to emit from under where her other hand was. Tears had eventually started to roll down her cheeks, as she felt the pain increase.

 

“It burns…! It burns…! Someone, please…! Make it stop…! Make the voices go away! Make the pain stop! Help me, please!!”

 

She let out another howl of pain, when the ringing sound was louder than before, completely unaware, that clouds had blocked out what light remained, and faint roars of thunder were heard in the distance. It wasn’t long until rain started to pour from the sky.   

* * *

 As the rain began to rain cats and dogs, the fight between Qrow and Tyrian continued despite the sudden change in weather. Blades kept clashing against one another and sparks flew from the impact. Tyrian jumped under the unfinished rooftop and used the tail to fling himself upward, and fire at Qrow. Of course he was able to block the bullets, but he was almost caught off guard when Tyrian charged at him again.

 

Qrow soon spotted a weakened beam just nearby, and he thought of an idea. He pushed Tyrian off of him with a quick and quickly ran across; Tyrian leaped high into the air and prepared to strike, when Qrow stopped in his tracks. As expected his foot landed on the weakened beam, and he fell into the building. Qrow jumped, but Tyrian’s tail wrapped around his ankle pulling him down with him. Ruby and Melody noticed this from where they stood, and they quickly moved from where they were and towards where Qrow, Melody picking her scythe back up on the way.

 

They stopped in their tracks at a sudden explosion from inside the building making the two young teens stopped in their tracks. Qrow soon came flying out, tucking and rolling, but he threw his sword and its blade dug into the ground. Qrow landed on it, his feet perched firmly. A red shimmer was indicated around his body, indicating that his aura had been damaged.

 

A faint glow was seen inside the building, as the dust lifted. Tyrian came dashing out of the building, his blades armed and he charged at Qrow. The Huntsman flipped off of his sword and went at Tyrian. Just before their blades could clash once more, both Ruby and Melody intervened.

 

The rest of the group made it back, to where they were before, and they saw what was happening. “ **RUBY, MELODY!!** ” Jaune exclaimed. He was about to run over to them, but Ren stopped him from doing so. Diamond made it to where everyone else was and saw what was happening as well, while she still clutched her shoulder.

 

“Do you wish to be taken!?” Tyrian said to Ruby before turning to Melody, “And you, do you wish to die?!”

 

“No!” Ruby and Melody said at the same time. Ruby said to the Scorpion Fanus, “But I won’t stand by and watch someone else get hurt!”

 

“And I don’t plan on dying today, not while I’ve still got loved ones waiting for me back home!!” Melody yelled.

 

Ruby, Melody and Qrow soon went after Tyrian, charging at him with weapons in hand. They swung their blades, but despite there being three of them, Tyrian managed to block all three of them. He kicked Qrow in the side making him fly back a few feet and he pushed Ruby and Melody off of him. He started to fire at the both of them, and they spun their scythes in hand blocking the bullets. Melody attacked first with her scythe swinging at him. All he did was laugh as he block her attacks and when he landed hits on her, he saw an opportunity when her aura broke.

 

He kicked the her right in the face before using his other foot to hit her in the arm when she went to block, ultimately breaking it; She cried out in agony as she fell on her side clutching her arm as she did.

 

“ **MELODY!!** ” Ruby and Qrow yelled; Qrow quickly ran over to his daughter helping her to sit up, and making sure she was alright.

 

Ruby let out a growl and glared, and she went to charge at Tyrian with full force, their blades clashed with one another. His eyes turned purple, and went to attack her with his stinger, catching her by surprise; Qrow was quick to jump in front of Ruby and blocked his stinger with his sword.

 

“Ruby!? What did I tell you!?” Qrow yelled, “Get back!”

 

“This is my fight too!” Ruby said to her uncle, “He took Destiny, he’s hurt Roman and Cristal, and now he’s hurt Melody! I’ll make him pay for it!”

 

Ruby went to attack Tyrian from behind, aiming for the legs, but he jumped over the blade easily; His attention was drawn to her, but he still blocked Qrow’s sword.

 

“I know he did, but it’s not that!” Qrow said, “It’s--”

 

Ruby didn’t listen and instead charged at Tyrian once more. With his eyes still purple he charged at Ruby, there blades clashed at each other once more. The group watched helplessly as the fight continued. “Damn it, we’ve gotta help them!” Jaune said.

 

Rosario soon registered the rain that was around them, but saw something off about it. She looked to the exit, but that’s when she saw it. There was no rain on that side. She looked around and saw that in some parts there was literally no rain, even where they came. Just from this she knew something was off.

 

“Guys…?” Rosario said getting their attention, “... Do you see something off about this rain?”

 

“What? What are you talking about?” Jaune asked.

 

“There’s literally another situation going on right now, and you’re more worried about the rain?” Neo asked.

 

“No I mean, it’s literally raining in the area where we’re standing and the area where Jaune was before.” Rosario said, “Don’t you find that a little bit odd?”

 

Jaune, Nora, Ren and Neo looked around and saw that Rosario was right. They did find it strange. “Maybe… It’s a sun shower?” Jaune asked. They jumped suddenly when they heard lighting dangerously close to them. Even Tyrian, Qrow, and Ruby stopped what they were doing, when they heard the sound of lighting.

 

“Do sun showers usually have lighting in them?” Nora asked.

 

A black mist flew to Diamond and went around her wrist; it whispered to her telling her what happened; Her eyes widened at what Orpheus told her.

 

“ **TYRIAN!** ” Diamond yelled, running to him, “ **TYRIAN, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!** ”

 

Before anyone could say anything else, a large bolt of lightning suddenly struck one of the buildings in the distance; the blast caused everyone to fall over on the ground and the Earth shook; most of the buildings in Oniyuri were torn down due to the blast. Everyone coughed from dust and smoke that surrounded the area.

 

“ **WHAT WAS THAT!?** ” Ruby exclaimed standing up.

 

“ **I DON’T KNOW!** ” Jaune yelled back.

 

“ **WHERE DID THAT LIGHTNING HIT!?** ” Scout yelled.

 

“Wait a minute…” Ren said, “Jaune… Didn’t you say that was where you and Elise fought?”

 

The rain around them stopped falling, leaving various large puddles around the area which had surrounded them, the fountain now filled with water from the rain; the dark clouds around them still stayed.  They soon heard footsteps coming to towards them. There from the mist they saw, a familiar girl walking towards them with a slight limp.

 

Diamond and Tyrian recognized the girl to be--

 

“Elise!” Diamond yelled, “Thank goodness your--!”

 

Diamond stopped herself when she realized that something was off. The smoke cleared, and Elise’s hair was down letting hang loosely around her shoulders, and she had messy bangs. Her coat had been torn slightly at the bottom and around her sleeves; her gloves were in the the same condition. Her left leg had appeared to be surrounded entirely of water. She walked with half of her body slumping slightly and her body and clothes were covered in dirt. She picked up her head and saw that her face was covered; her right face around her eye was covered with water, and the left side of her face, was covered with sparks of lightning. The mask resembled that of a **_wolf_ **.

 

“... Elise?” Diamond said, “Are you alright…?”

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Tyrian said noticing that she seemed off.

 

Ruby tilted her head slightly when she looked closely at Elise. “Is she… **_unconscious_ **?”

 

Qrow soon noticed this but caught wind when the puddles around her, started to ripple as her fingers uncurled. He soon realized what was going to happen.

 

“ **EVERYONE! GET BACK NOW!** ” Qrow yelled.

 

The minute Elise lifted her hand whips made entirely of water suddenly came out from the puddles and went towards the whole group, Tyrian and Diamond included. Immediately when this happened everyone quickly moved; many craters were made from where everyone had jumped out of the way. When Ruby, landed on the ground, Elise suddenly made a ring of water around her, and fired a bolt of electricity out of her left hand.

 

“ **RUBY!** ” Melody exclaimed, “ **MOVE!** ”

 

Ruby saw under her feet and saw the electricity, she couldn’t help but stay frozen just stunned by what was happen. Qrow acted fast; he jumped and grabbed Ruby. They both landed on the ground, when their was just a sudden explosion of electricity, laced with water.

 

“ **ELISE!** ” Diamond yelled, “ **WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? WE NEED HER ALIVE!** ”  

 

Elise turned her attention over to her; from a puddle nearby, she used it to make another whip made of water, but used it to grab ahold of her. Diamond couldn’t help but scream, as she swung her around, and threw her to Tyrian just as he was about to move in to attack. Elise used the water that was around her to create a bow made of ice, and she created an arrow made out of ice as well. She aimed it right at them, and their eyes widened in horror.

 

“She’s going to kill them!?” Nora said.

 

“But their her comrades, why would she want to kill them!?” Ruby said.

 

Diamond and Tyrian attempted to move but a rope of water grabbed a hold of both of their ankles. “Elise, what are you doing?!” Tyrian said.

 

“It’s us! Remember!?” Diamond said.

 

Elise pulled the arrow back, and at this point, Diamond and Tyrian shivered with fear.

 

“Holy crap, she’s actually going to kill them!” Rosario said when it finally hit her.

 

“What do we do!? We can’t just let this happen!” Jaune said.

 

Suddenly they heard a sudden flash and they saw that a certain someone was missing from Neo’s arms. Soon they saw Cristal pick up her weapons and fired at Elise; it caused her to fall and land on her side. “ **DIAMOND! TYRIAN! MOVE! GET TO COVER, NOW!** ” Cristal yelled to them. Both of them didn’t hesitate, they quickly moved behind one of the buildings; Cristal fired around Elise’s feet creating a smoke cover. “ **EVERYONE GO!** ” Cristal yelled.

 

Everyone quickly did as they were told and got to cover. Cristal soon joined the rest of them, despite groaning slightly from the pain in her shoulder. She followed them behind a building and they took a moment to catch their breath there breath; Senka and Avira immediately went to their partner's side, Avira going back into Diamond’s body. “Okay! I’m officially lost!” Rosario said, “What the hell is going on right now!?”

 

“I don’t know okay!” Ruby said, “Everything is happening so fast! I don’t know what’s going on!”

 

“What on earth kind of a semblance is that!?” Nora said.

 

“She’s a **_Rogue_ ** .” Cristal said to the group, earning a look of confusion, “Well to be more specific, she’s a **_Rogue Maiden_ **.”

 

Qrow’s eyes widened slightly at this, “A Rogue Maiden? Her? Are you sure?”

 

Cristal nodded to the Huntsman, but the group was left confused at this. “A Rogue Maiden??” Melody said, “Excuse me, be what in the hell is a Rogue Maiden?!”

 

Cristal replied, “I’ll be sure to go into detail about it later, but all you need to know right now, is that she’s not in control of what she’s doing right now.”

 

“How do you know that?” Ren asked.

 

“She didn’t block my bullets, nor did she listen to Diamond when she told her stop.” Cristal said, “Trust me, if she was in control right now, she would’ve done either of those things from the start.”  

 

“Okay, but if she’s not in control than who is?” Jaune said.

 

“That’s a little hard to explain right now.” Qrow said, “We just need to focus on taking her out.”

 

“Your not saying we should kill her right?” Nora asked.

 

“No that’s not what he’s saying, but if we can knock her out, this should all stop.” Cristal said.

 

“But you saw what she did just now!” Scout said, “I don’t know if that’s a semblance, but she’s too powerful right now! We won’t get close to her!”

 

“I know.” Cristal said, “Which is why we’re going to need help.”

 

Cristal of course referred to the other two that was nearby and currently trying to catch their breath from what had just happened. They soon realized what Cristal was talking about exactly. “Oh no… Absolutely not.” Qrow said.

 

“Did everything just magically slip your mind about what had happened a few minutes ago?” Melody said, “That bastard poisoned Roman almost killing him, he put you in a severe condition and they’re trying to kidnap you and my cousin! Not to mention, creepy scorpion man their broke my damn arm!”

 

“Haven’t you heard the phrase, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Cristal said, “We’ve all seen how they fought, we need them to help us as much as we all hate to admit it.  

 

“Cristal, how do you know they’ll go with it?” Ruby said.

 

“I just know they will.” Cristal said.

 

“You don’t know these people kid.” Qrow said, “Trust me, it’s not a good idea.”

 

“Look, just me talk to them.” Cristal said, “Get them to have a temporary truce with us. I just need five minutes with them.”

 

The whole group looked to one another, wondering if it was such a good idea in the first place. Well they knew it wasn’t because of the fact they’re their enemies and they had every reason not to trust one another. But seeing as how they’re dealing with this, Rogue Maiden, they didn’t have a lot of options. They eventually nodded their heads hesitantly and Cristal nodded back. She than made their way over to them; they soon noticed Cristal had approached them.

 

“Oh it’s just you.” Tyrian said, in a bored tone.

 

“That anyway to talk to someone that just saved your life?” Cristal said in a sarcastic tone.

 

“What do you want?” Diamond asked with a sneer.

 

“I know that she sent you here because your both professionals at what you do.” Cristal said to the two of them; she turned her attention to Tyrian, “And as much as I hate to say this out loud, I know you like Cinder, specialize in finding and taking down the Maidens. Look, what I’m trying to say is… **_We need your help_ **.”

 

Diamond was shocked at this, and all Tyrian did was laugh, “So little Crissy wants our help! I just find that hilarious!”

 

“Hilarious or not, what Elise did before, she’ll do again.” Cristal said, “As of this moment she doesn’t remember the both of you, and she will not hesitate to kill you both, and I may not be able to save either of you a second time.”

 

Both of them looked at one another before turning back to Cristal.

 

Cristal said to Diamond, “I know she’s your sister, and I know you care about what happens to her.” She turned to Tyrian but one point whispering with her words, “And I know you won’t admit it out loud, but you care about her too. I saw how you protected her from Nora when she was helpless to stop her attack. If you want the Elise you know back, than you have to help us. After this we can just go back to being enemies like nothing ever happened. Hell you can even try to catch Ruby and me, and bring us back to Salem to let her do what she wants with us, but for now… All I’m asking for is a temporary truce.”

 

Both Tyrian and Diamond thought about what Cristal had said to them, but soon enough they had an answer for her. “Fine.” Tyrian said with a shrug, “But speak of this truce to no one.”

 

“Okay.” Cristal said turning to Diamond, “And you…?”

 

Diamond soon replied, “... Just so we’re clear, I’m only doing this for her… Not for you. If any of you try to kill her, or hurt her in any way than you’ve already have… I’ll kill everyone one of you for it, regardless of what the Mistress had ordered.”

 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Cristal said.

 

She motioned them to come with her; they did and they quickly joined the group. “I’ll be damned, she got them to agree on it.” Qrow said.

 

“What can I say? She can be persuasive.” Rosario said.

 

“They’ve agreed to a temporary truce, so as of right now, we’re going to work off of each other as if we were all fighting an army of Grimm.” Cristal said, “Our main objective is to take Elise out without killing her or severely hurting her in anyway, so we’re going to be doing this the hard way, we lose our lives if we have too, if anyone has a problem with this than speak now.”

 

Everyone just stood there in silence and said nothing. Cristal spoke up again, turning to Scout, “You wouldn’t happen to have any sedatives we can use do you?”

 

“Y-yeah.” Scout said stuttering slightly still by Roman’s side. She pointed to  her backpack she had set aside earlier, “There should be some in my second pouch.”

 

Ruby quickly went over to the bag, and went through the second pouch, “Found it!” Ruby said holding up one of the needles. They all soon heard faint booming sounds, just nearby. “Sounds like she’s looking for us.” Ren said.

 

“Okay, here’s how it’s going to work.” Cristal said, “Ruby, will get into sniper position, Senka and I will back her up just in case, while the rest of you provide a distraction. Tyrian, Neo and Qrow, will give an opening, once that’s done Ruby will take a shot, and hopefully one dose will be enough to take her out.”

 

“What happens if it doesn’t?” Ruby asked.

 

“... Than we run like hell and try again.” Cristal said.

 

Everyone nodded their heads, and the ones that were still able to fight armed themselves with their weapons. “Hey.” Melody said to Ruby, “Try not to die.”

 

“Don’t worry I won’t.” Ruby said with a smile, “You just try to get some rest.”

 

With that Ruby and the rest went to go forward with the plan. Elise broke down another building looking for her targets. Her eyes still were empty like there was an endless void as she searched and searched. It wasn’t long before she felt something hit her head.

 

“Hey!”

 

She turned in a creepy like way and she saw Rosario, throwing a pebble up and down in the palm of her hand. “Tag, you’re it!” Rosario said taunting her. Elise made more whips from water and started to attack Rosario. She quickly moved out of the way using her guns on her heels to rocket herself upward. Nora and Ren soon went to attack her, charging at her with weapons in hand.

 

( **_Song Starts: Time to Say Goodbye Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

**_There’s a point where it tips_ **

**_There’s a point where it breaks_ **

**_There’s a point where it bends_ **

**_And a point where we just can’t take, anymore_ **

 

They swung their weapons at her, but Elise suddenly moved like a puppet and dodged their attacks. From the puddles of water around she made another weapon. She created a sword of ice, and charged at them, swinging in a random direction trying to hit them. Rosario soon went charging at her, to assist Ren and Nora, though despite this Elise continued to avert them; her movements were similar to that of a doll.  Soon she hit them all away and sent them flying onto the ground so powerful in fact they created a trail.

 

**_There’s a line that we’ll cross_ **

**_And there’s no return_ **

**_There’s a time and a place, no bridges left to burn_ **

**_Anymore_ **

 

Jaune and Diamond soon went into attack and swung his sword; She blocked their attacks and went to counter. She swung her sword at the two of them but they were quick to counter. Jaune blocked with his sword and Diamond blocked with her fans.

 

“Forgive me for this sister.” Diamond said, before she hit her across the face. Though Elise barely flinched at this, and her eye moved in a creepy way. This caused both Diamond and Jaune to flinch. She attacked them again making them fall headfirst onto the floor.

 

**_We can’t just wait, with lives at stake_ **

**_Until they think we’re ready_ **

**_Our enemies are gathering_ **

**_The storm is growing deadly_ **

 

Electricity was produced from her left arm and she attempted to finish them both; Diamond quickly stopped her from doing so, by kicking her right in the face making her stumble backwards. Standing up on her feet she quickly started to throw punches at her, giving her now time to react, until Elise was able to push her back. She fired electricity from her arm and right when it was about hit her, Jaune got in front of her and blocked the electricity with his shield. Jaune went to attack her and swung his sword to her. Elise used the water underneath her feet to push herself back from Jaune’s sword.

 

Elise than charged at Jaune, going after him with her ice sword once more. The blades clashed with one another until finally Elise’s ice sword broke in two, and Jaune quickly shoulder charged Elise making her stumble backwards, almost landing on her back, but she bent forward regaining her footing.

 

“Doesn’t she ever go down!?” Jaune said before going to charge at her again.

 

**_Now it’s time to say goodbye_ **

**_To the things we loved, and the innocence of youth_ **

**_How the time seems to fly, from our carefree lives_ **

**_And the solemn and the peace we always knew_ **

 

This time Elise ducked when Jaune came to hit her with his sword. She grabbed his arm and shocked it causing him to scream and drop his weapon. The water around him grabbed a hold of Jaune and started to create a dome around his head. Before he knew it, he started to choke on the water. “ **JAUNE!** ” Ren and Nora exclaimed, and they charged at Elise again.

 

**_There's a day when we'll fight, and we're not gonna fall_ **

**_There's a day when we'll stand_ **

**_And a day when we won't crawl_ **

**_Anymore_ **

 

They tried to hit Elise, but the water blocked their attacks, she used the lighting to Ren flying away, before smacking Nora away with the whip made of water. Rosario and Diamond soon fired at Elise when she kicked at her and Diamond threw her fan, but the bullets managed to get caught with the water and the fan as well. She used a whip made of water, to send them both flying, she turned her attention back to Jaune. Before she could do anything she was caught by surprise when a tail wrapped around her wrist. Turn out it was none other than Tyrian, who had smile on his face.

 

He started to attack her, giving her no time to react in anyway; though he made sure his attacks weren’t lethal as he hit her with his blades.

 

**_There’s a moment in time, and there’s no going back_ **

**_When we’re pushed too hard_ **

**_And we won’t hold our attack_ **

**_Anymore_ **

 

Elise was about fight back, but Qrow ended up attacking her from behind catching her by surprise. She tried to shock him in the leg but he hit her with the butt of his sword. Elise went to attack them but as soon as she hit them they shattered like glass leaving her befuddled. Neo suddenly appeared in front of her, kicking her right in the face, and Tyrian, Qrow, charged at Elise once more.

 

**_We can’t just cling to childish things_ **

**_As evil grows closer_ **

**_Humanity’s in jeopardy_ **

**_This fight is far from over_ **

 

They all went to attack her, while Elise moved in a doll like way, they tried to land a hit on her. Tyrian managed to flip over her and wrap his tail around her; before she could attack, Qrow pinned both of her arms, and Neo held her blade up to her neck to prevent her from moving.

 

“ **RUBY NOW!** ” Qrow yelled as they struggled to keep her still.

 

From up in the skies, Ruby and Cristal rode on Senka’s back, and they heard Qrow yell to them. “ **GO FOR IT RUBY! YOU GET ONE SHOT!** ” Cristal said to her. Ruby nodded her head, and armed her Crescent Rose with the sedative. She aimed looked through her scope. She aimed for her neck, but had difficulty doing so, when she sent Neo flying towards one of the buildings behind them. She tried to shock Tyrian and Qrow but both teens saw that it didn’t do anything, as the half of her mask, made from lighting suddenly disappeared.

 

“Damn it!” Ruby said, “I don’t have a clear shot!”

 

Cristal cursed under her breath, wondering what should be done, when she saw Elise release herself from Qrow and Tyrian’s grip. Cristal than soon thought of an idea when she looked at her own weapon. She quickly drew her sword, “ **HEY QROW!** ” Cristal yelled to the Huntsman, “ **USE THIS!** ”

 

She threw her sword that was still sheathed to him and Qrow caught it. He quickly unsheathed the sword and saw the trigger button on the handle. When he pressed it, it had activated its a whip mode. He shrugged at this and with a swift movement of his hand he the sword extended and managed to trap her, wrapping her arms.

 

“Now Ruby, you got an opening!” Cristal said.

 

**_Now it’s time to say goodbye_ **

**_To the things we love, in the innocence of youth_ **

**_Oh how the time seems to fly, from our carefree lives_ **

**_And the solemn and the peace we always knew_ **

 

(Song Fades)

 

Ruby aimed for Elise’s neck and took a shot at her. With the pull of the trigger, the needle in a split second had hit her neck, making Elise’s eyes widen at the sudden pain. She felt a sudden drowsiness and the water, fell on the other half of her face as she finally passed out. Qrow retracted the whip, and she fell on her side.

 

“ **ELISE!** ” Diamond yelled, she quickly ran to her, as did Tyrian.

 

Diamond removed the needle from her neck and threw to the side. “Elise! Elise! Wake up!” Tyrian said as he shook her.

 

“Say something! Elise!” Diamond said.

 

“Don’t worry.” Cristal said Senka landing on the ground; Ruby and her jumped off of his back, “The sedative only knocked her out. She’ll be okay.”

 

Qrow looked over at Elise, before whispering  to the group, “Okay, listen to me very carefully. We have to get her too-- **AAAAHHH!** ”

 

Qrow let out a scream suddenly when Tyrian’s stinger went across Qrow’s stomach which caught them by surprise. Their eyes widened in horror, when they saw that Tyrian’s eyes were purple. Ruby quickly acted fast, she put the blade on his stinger and pulled the trigger, cutting off his stinger. He cried out in pain as he fell to his knees.

 

“ **TYRIAN!** ” Diamond exclaimed, going over to him and he helped him on his feet.

 

“ **GAH, YOU BITCH!** ” Tyrian yelled.

 

When Tyrian was about to attack her, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Rosario and Neo stood in front of them. Tyrian looked them and at his injuries, and looking at Elise.

 

“ **_She’ll forgive you_ **.” He whispered to himself before telling Diamond, “We need to leave.” Diamond nodded, and she allowed Tyrian to go and pick up Elise. Once that was done and he made sure that they wouldn’t attack, both him and Diamond quickly ran down the path ahead.

 

“Well that was some thank you.” Melody said breaking the silence.

 

Cristal suddenly fell over on her side, passing out due to her wounds; a puddle of blood was soon seen staining her clothes and hair. “ **CRISTAL!** ” The whole group exclaimed. Qrow soon fell to his knees after feeling a sudden drowsiness. “ **DAD!** ” Melody exclaimed running to his side.

 

“ **UNCLE QROW!** ” Ruby yelled, “ **ARE YOU OKAY!?** ”

 

Qrow took deep breaths as he tried to prevent himself from passing out. He turned to his niece and daughter, “I’ll be fine. He just grazed me…”

 

Scout soon ran to his side, “You’re not okay, you’ve been poisoned! It’s the same one that he used on Roman! I’m going to give you something that will--”

 

“Scout!” Rosario soon shouted over to her, “Scout! It’s Cristal she’s not waking up! I think she lost too much blood! You have to help her!”

 

Scout looked back and forth to and was struggling on what to do in this situation. “Oh God what do I do?” Scout said with a whisper, “What do I--?” She was soon cut off when she felt Qrow’s hand on her shoulder; she turned her attention to him. “It’s okay.” Qrow said, “Go to your friend. She needs you more than I do.”

 

Scout struggled to say something, but couldn’t find any words to say; she turned to Melody and Ruby. “It’s alright.” Ruby said, “Go help Cristal.”

 

“She needs you Scout.” Melody said, “Don’t worry, we won’t get mad.”

 

Scout gulped but had eventually nodded her head and soon ran to Cristal. As she instructed Rosario to turn Cristal over on her back, and Neo went to tend to Roman, everyone else went to Qrow. Of course they had questions for him, and a lot of them.

 

“Who in the world were they?” Nora asked.

 

“How did you get here?” Ren asked.

 

“Why are people after Ruby and Cristal?” Jaune asked.

 

“What the hell is a Rogue Maiden?” Melody asked, “And who is this Salem?”

 

Qrow took deep breaths as he tried his best to work through the pain. “Uncle Qrow…” Ruby said, “What’s going on…?”

 

Finally Qrow picked up his head and asked them one question.

 

“... What’s your favorite fairytale…?”

 

( ** _Ending Theme:_** **_I’m Waiting for the Rain TV Size Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_** )


	11. Hello?

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

_ Fire had surrounded the night sky as the sound of Grimm roaring in the distance and screams were heard as well, most of the screams were heard the last sounds anyone had ever heard. Sounds of gunfire were heard as well, and sounds of fighting, but it didn’t matter to those that tried.  _

 

_ What had cut through all of the sounds was the sound of a baby’s cry.  _

 

_ A young woman wearing a gray cloak and a dress colored in the shade of blue, ran through the snow away from something in the distance. In her arms she carried a small bundle wrapped in layers of blankets that had been the source of the crying. Eventually the young woman had stopped running and hid behind from a tree, taking deep breaths as she held the baby close. The baby continued to cry, the little arms reaching to her mother.  _

 

_ “Shh…” The young woman said softly using one of her hands to take her little ones fingers, “It’s okay sweetie. It’s okay mommy’s here. Mommy’s here.” _

 

_ She kissed the baby’s head, and the cries had softened; the mother rested her forehead against the little ones.  _

 

_ “ _ **_I won’t let them take you…_ ** _ ” _

 

_ The young woman heard a tree snap in the distance, making her go silent. The baby was on the verge to cry again, but she started to bounce her gently in order to prevent her from crying. She started to look around as she started to move, trekking through the snow that was beneath her feet. Finally she saw a hollow tree with an opening large enough for any small animal to fit into.  _

 

_ Or even a little baby.  _

 

_ Wrapping her baby good and tight with the blankets she went over to the tree, and placed the baby inside, making sure that the baby was comfortable and secure.  _

 

_ “Stay here, alright sweetheart.” The mother said to her child, “I’ll come back for you when it’s safe.”  _

 

_ The baby was about to cry again when its parent had to leave, but she shushed her gently as she softly hummed a little tune she thought of in her head. The baby seemed to have stopped the crying as it listened to the mother’s song. After a few moments, she noticed that the baby started to fall asleep.  _

 

_ “Remember mommy loves you… She will always love you…”  _

 

_ She kissed the baby’s cheek as it started to follow asleep. She started to back up, treading softly as not to wake her. She started to make her way towards where she heard the sound of the foot steps as she armed herself. She knew she was far from the town she lived in, and everything was dark and the only light that was around her was the pale of the shattered moon high above the sky.  _

 

_ Her semblance activated however, and she was able to pierce through the darkness, to see more clearly, and hopefully she would catch eyes on who had been following her; Her weapon, a battle spear had been armed.  _

 

_ She soon heard someone, run swiftly through the bushes nearby. She turned around as she heard more of the sounds, but she couldn’t catch a glimpse.  _

 

_ “I know you’re out there! Show yourself!”  _

 

_ The sounds came again, and she turned, but once more, she couldn’t catch the person’s view, “Stop playing games!” Everything went silent around them, only the sound of her breathing was heard. Just when she thought she had eyes on the attacker, an unknown assailant rushed her from behind and she had blacked out.  _

 

_ The next time she woke up she found herself over someone's shoulder, her cloak hood removed revealing her  _ **_magenta hair and purple eyes_ ** _. She saw her wrists were tied and caught glimpse of a  _ **_scorpion tail_ ** _ , waving in a sinister way, as she watched herself being carried somewhere deeper into the forest.  _

 

_ Finally after what seemed like hours, she found herself being thrown down to the ground roughly into the snow. She saw that she was thrown in front of someone, when she caught a glimpse from someone who wore nothing, but  _ **_black_ ** _.  _

 

_ “I have brought her to you my lady.” A voice of a man had said, “Just as you said.”  _

 

_ The mother looked up, and saw a familiar woman wearing a black cloak, covering her face, and most of her body; though the only thing that was seen her hand that was surrounded with black veins, and her skin, as pale as the snow itself. Though her face was covered the mother clearly saw her eyes glow orange, with no reflection, giving her a cold stare. Beside her was two other men, one tall and slender,  and the other one muscular and more lean than the other. She turned to the men, including the one who brought her before her.  _

 

_ “ _ **_Watts, Tyrian, Hazel._ ** _ ” She said to them, “I’ll take care of her. Go and continue searching for _ **_the child_ ** _. When you find her, send  _ **_the Messenger_ ** _ to me, and make sure you keep  _ **_her_ ** _ alive till I reach you.”  _

 

_ The three men, with the names Tyrian, Hazel and Watts, nodded, and went to do as they were told, leaving her the only one with the woman before her. The mother looked to her wrists; from her sleeve she took out a small blade and started to cut the ropes from around her wrists but she did it without her knowing. It wasn’t long before the woman spoke to her.  _

 

 _“_ ** _Trinity_** _…” She said, “You’ve been on the run for all this time, all these years. You’ve been hiding from  your own_ _family_ ** _bloodline_** _… Did you honestly think you could hide your child from me?”_

 

_ The mother, named Trinity turned to her slightly as she realized something , “... You were watching me… For how long…?” _

 

_ “... Since you first discovered you were with a child.” The woman replied, “... I had to make sure you were in tact, until you delivered her.”  _

 

_ “... So I was just another pawn?” Trinity said, “Like my  _ **_mother_ ** _?” _

 

_ “... And now like your mother, I regret to say, now that it’s been a year since you bought your child into this world _ **_you’ve outlived your usefulness…_ ** _ ” She said.  _

 

_ Trinity looked to the woman, who had kneeled in front of her, “What do you want with my daughter…? Why do you need her?”  _

 

_ “What I want with her is none of your concern.” She replied, “Though, I can tell you I don’t plan on taking her tonight. I only plan on,  _ **_giving her something_ ** _.”  _

 

_ Trinity didn’t understand what she meant until she realized, what she was holding in her other hand. “No.” Trinity said, her eyes widened in horror, “You can’t! She’s too young, she’ll die like the  _ **_others_ ** _ if she’s not strong enough!”  _

 

_ “Something tells me she’ll be  _ **_different_ ** _ from the others…” She said.  _

 

_ “Please! She’s only a baby! I don’t know what you want with her but you can’t do this! Please don’t get her involved!” _

 

_ “Her life is no longer of your concern.”  _

 

_ “Her life  _ **_DOES_ ** _ concern me! She’s my child!”  _

 

_ Trinity broke out of her restraints after the rope was weak enough, and she grabbed her weapon that was tossed to the side earlier; the woman took a step back, but she was strangely calm. With her battle spear in hand, she gave the woman a glare.  _

 

_ “ _ **_I WON’T LET YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH HER!_ ** _ ” Trinity yelled as she charged at her; the woman herself just stood there. Before anyone knew what had happened, their was a sudden ring, and Trinity was once again on her knees; her own weapon had been shattered in pieces, the only thing intact was her blade. There was a light shimmer around her body, indicating that her aura had been broken. The woman, now revealing herself to be  _ **_Salem_ ** _ , stood before her, unscaved, only her cloak had been partly torn.  _

 

_ “... Your as foolish as your father was.”  Salem said, as she went to pick up the blade that was once from her spear, “... Did you think you had a chance to defeat me?”  _

 

_ “I may be defeated today…” Trinity said, “...But someone will stop you one day. If not me… If not  _ **_Ozpin_ ** _ , than someone else will.”  _

 

_ “They’ll meet the same fate, as you and others have.” Salem said to her with the blade in hand, “Be sure to give your family and your father my regards when you see them.”  _

 

_ Salem held Trinity’s head so that she would look her dead in the eye. Trinity knew this would be the end for her; she shut her eyes as tear rolled down her cheek.  _

 

_ “My dear little  _ **_Destiny_ ** _ …  My dear sweet  _ **_Roman_ ** _ … Please stay safe…” She said under her breath.  _

 

_ With a thrust of the blade, it had gone clean through her chest, and her vision of the world was coated with red. _

* * *

A young teenage boy shot his eyes open after witnessing what he had assumed was some kind of a nightmare. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to process what happened. He gathered his thoughts and looked to the window, seeing the soon already began to raise in the distance. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, as he tried to forget about the dream all together, though--

 

“Oscar, are you okay?” 

 

He let out a scream again as he jumped, nearly falling out of his bed, though he seemed to have calm down when he saw a young girl with short magenta hair and two parts of her bangs orange; her eye green and the other orange with black veins seen around it. Her outfit consisting of a purple hoodie with a hole in the side and short brown pants, with black crops under it; She looked spooked about something too and she appeared to be  **_floating_ ** . 

 

“Destiny!” The young boy named Oscar said, before whispering, “What did I tell you about sneaking up like that!?” 

 

“I’m really sorry!” Destiny said, putting her hands together and bowed her head, “I didn’t mean too!” 

 

The young boy, named Oscar, stood up on his feet, and brushed himself, “When did you get back?” 

 

“A few minutes ago.” Destiny replied, “I saw you talking in your sleep and I got worried. It sounded like a nightmare.” 

 

“It’s… It’s nothing.” Oscar said, “But, could you maybe stop floating off the ground like that? It’s kind of freaking me out.” 

 

Destiny didn’t know what he meant, until she looked down at her feet, “Oh sorry.” She let her feet touch the ground gently, and she fixed up her shirt, “I guess, I’m still getting used to this.” 

 

“You and me both.” Oscar said to her; she couldn’t help but laugh nervously. Oscar stepped out of his room and Destiny followed behind. As he shut the door behind him, Destiny seemed to have gone through the door no problem. She followed by Oscar’s side as he went down the ladder, her feet touching the ground gently. As she stepped outside with him to take in the sun, she couldn’t help but look to the ground with a sad look on her face, as she saw the sun cast Oscar’s shadow,  **_no shadow was cast from her_ ** . She watched as he did his usual work around the farm. 

 

It was strange for Oscar, to have this strange little girl here, though strangely for him he had grown used to her presence despite the short time they’ve known one another. The first time Oscar met her, he found her in tears in the barn, crying about something. When he went to comfort her, as her what was wrong, his hand had gone right through her body and of course, he freaked out that had gotten the attention of his Aunt. Much more to his surprise was the fact that his Aunt,  **_couldn’t even see her_ ** . It was strange, insane to him even, he had almost made himself believe that he was dreaming this up. He at first, tried to get her to go away and leave him alone, but she always came back despite him shouting at her, making her even more upset than she already was. After seeing her stick with him for two days, he had asked her as to why she would even stick around. 

 

She simply told him that he was the only one she could talk to since no one else could see her. She told him, she found out she could only talk through the Grimm because of her eye, and it would scare anyone that she tried to talk to. Oscar though he still found it hard to believe he let her stay and eventually apologized to her about yelling at her. Now for some time, she would come and go on the farm he and his Aunt called home. He didn’t know why exactly she did; all she told him was she was looking for some people. She would disappear for at least a few days, but come back and stay for a week, but it wasn’t of her own control. 

 

He didn’t know why it was in this pattern, in fact she didn’t even know herself, but that’s how it went, ever since she first appeared to him. 

 

Oscar was busy working on the garden that was at the front of the farm, and Destiny watched as he dug in between the rows of dirt as she sat at the side. 

 

“I really wish I could help you out with your work.” Destiny said to him honestly, “Just as my way of saying thanking you for letting me hang out with you.” 

 

“Yeah, but you can’t exactly touch anything solid.” Oscar said to her, “Except for the ground.” 

 

“I guess your right.” Destiny said laughing a little. 

 

“Any luck on finding your friends?” 

 

“I only found one of them. But the others… I’m not sure where they are.” 

 

“You must’ve been at least, across the whole world by now. Why not take a break?” 

 

Destiny sighed at this, “... I would if I could, but… I really miss them. I don’t know how long I’ve been  **_asleep_ ** but, I just want to find them.  **_And I want them to find me too_ ** .” 

 

Oscar took his tool and put onto the side, before reaching for a bucket filled with seeds. He started to plant them, “If you’ve really been away from your body, how come you don’t try to find it, no offense?” 

 

“I would, but that’s thing, I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.” Destiny said, “It’s like I said before. The place where I was when I woke up, the last thing I remember was saw red and strange crystals, and a woman who was like me ***** ... The next time when I went to sleep,  **_I found myself like this_ ** . This kind of thing never happened to me before, never in my life.”  

 

(* **_A reference back to the teaser of this story, titled The Shadow of Grimm: Destiny_ ** )

 

Oscar seemed befuddled by this, “Red and strange crystals? I wish I could help you with remembering, but there isn’t a place like that around here, or at least from what I’ve heard and read.” 

 

“I don’t know.” Destiny said, “Maybe, I’m just thinking too much, and I’ve never been really good with memory. I want to know, where I am, but… I want to know if the others are okay too.” 

 

“Just… Take one step at a time.” Oscar said to her, as he finished up planting the seeds, “You can’t exactly rush these things you know.” 

 

“I guess…” She said with a shrug. 

 

Destiny looked around the area of the farm, and she watched the sun rise from the distance, as did Oscar for a moment. She took note of every color in the sky as the sun rose from the horizon; she made sure to remember every single detail about it. “You know something…” Destiny said, “Despite the situation I’m in, I do like it here. It just seems relaxing.” 

 

“Yeah, right…” Oscar said, looking to the ground before turning to her, “What you’ve never seen a view like this before?” 

 

Destiny shook her head in reply, “I’ve always lived in the city, with my dad, and we don’t take a lot of vacations, so no. I’ve only seen these kind of views in picture books, that… That…” 

 

Her words had trailed off when she thought of her dad, and her friends, and her eyes averted from Oscar. The young farm boy noticed this from the little girl. 

 

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked with concern. 

 

“... I just miss them…” Destiny said still not making eye contact. 

 

Oscar placed the bucket to the side and went over to her, taking a seat beside her. “Look, I’m not sure how much help I can be to find your friends, and your dad, or even… well where your body is. But I’ll try if you remember anything else.” 

 

Destiny finally turned to Oscar slightly, she still didn’t make eye contact, but she said to him, “... Thank you.” 

 

Oscar smiled to her, and went to place his hand on her shoulder, but it ended up going through. Destiny and Oscar couldn’t help but laugh at this. “Right, I kind of forgot about that.” Oscar said rubbing the back of his head. 

 

“Yeah.” Destiny said, in between her laughs, “Still trying to get used to it.” 

 

“I better go put these tools away.” Oscar said getting up, “Since I’m done with all of my chores for now.” 

 

“I’ll keep an eye on things.” Destiny said.

 

Oscar smiled to her, and gathered up his things. He than went into the farm to put the tools back where they were. But after he put away all the tools, something caught his eye in the mirror. He went closer to the mirror and placed his hands on the sink, looking at the mirror more closely. 

 

“... Hello?...” Oscar said, talking to his own reflection. 

 

Oscar waited, and waited for a reply, but none came. He let out a sigh, as a thought came over that he may just be--

 

“ _ Hello, I’m Professor Ozpin! _ ”

 

Oscar suddenly screamed as he jumped back, and fell into the hay behind him. Destiny heard this and floated into the barn. “Are you okay?” She asked before she noticed him in the pile of hay, “... What are you doing?” Oscar couldn’t even say anything as he was just left stunned by a voice he heard suddenly, and all he did was look at the girl that was floating beside him, just left speechless at this point. 

 

“Oscar!” His Aunt called out, “You be careful with those tools!”    

  
( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For The Rain TV Size Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	12. Secrets and Motives

- **_Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_ On a cold night of the forest, teams RNJR, CRMS and Roman and Neo were sound asleep in their sleeping bags, all of them practically next each other for warmth. They had traveled down the road for at least hours and hours for almost the day without stopping. They all practically hit the hay the minute they stopped to rest for the night, and instead of sleeping where they usually slept, they all practically huddled together since it was cold for the night.  _

 

_ Most of them tossed and turned in their sleep, trying to get comfortable, while the others slept still, and breathed softly. It wasn’t long till Ruby stirred from her slumber when she heard something rather unusual.  _

 

_ It was of someone singing.  _

 

**_Somewhere over the rainbow_ **

**_Way up high_ **

**_There’s a land that I heard of_ **

**_Once in lullaby_ **

 

_ Ruby groaned as she sat up, and stretched groaning slightly. She turned and saw that Roman was missing from the group. It wasn’t long until she realized that the voice was of a recording, of a woman, that she didn’t recognize. She looked around, but soon spotted Roman sitting by the dying fire, holding onto something. He sat back against a log, with his head back and his eyes closed.  _

 

**_Somewhere over the rainbow_ **

**_Skies are blue_ **

**_And the dreams that you dare to dream_ **

**_Really do come true_ **

 

_ Ruby threw a blanket over her shoulders and went to approach Roman, the grass blades crushing under her feet softly. He noticed her presence, when she sat beside him, but chose to say nothing as he continued to do what he was doing; every now and than he would turn over the logs, in an attempt to keep the fire going before he put his head back again.  _

 

**_Someday I’ll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far behind me_ **

 

**_Where troubles melt like lemon drops,_ **

**_Away above the chimney tops_ **

**_That’s where you’ll find me_ **

 

**_Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly_ **

**_Birds fly over the rainbow, why can’t, why can’t I?_ **

**_If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow_ **

**_Why, oh why can’t I?_ **

 

_ With a click the recorder came to an end, and there was silence between the two of them; their was just the sound of the crickets and the sound of the wood popping. Finally after a few moments Ruby broke the silence, “That was a beautiful song.”  _

 

_ “Yeah.” Roman said as his head still looked up to the clouds above, “It was Trinity’s favorite. She recorded it for Destiny in case she was out of town. I found it in my apartment, well what was left of it, and I’m glad that it was still working, and the tape was intact.”  _

 

_ “That was her singing on the tape, wasn’t it?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ Roman didn’t say anything but chose to nod his head. “Whenever Destiny had a nightmare, or cried about something, I would always play her this song. Now…” He let out a sigh, “I guess, I just play this for myself just to clear my head.” Ruby soon looked to his other hand and noticed that he was holding a photograph; from just the one reading, “Our First Date” She knew exactly what the picture was.  _

 

_ “There’s something bothering you, isn’t it?” Ruby asked concerned about him.  _

 

_ Roman didn’t say anything and finally moved his head from the sky; he a hand through his hair. “Roman, we’re friends now, you know it’s okay to tell me. I want to help you if I can.”  _

 

_ He let out a sigh as he finally looked to the teenage girl, “I had a dream, no a memory lapse about Trinity. It was… It was just something I remembered around the time, we found out we were having Destiny. It was just something I remember her telling me something, that’s all.”  _

 

_ Ruby tilted her head slightly since she was confused by what he was saying. Eventually Roman said to her, “Look Red, I know you want to help, but, I’d rather not talk about it at the moment. I don’t mean to sound rude, but… Can we drop it for now?”  _

 

_ “Oh, okay.” Ruby said, “If your not okay about talking about it now, but, whenever your ready, you can talk about about it.”  _

 

_ Roman didn’t say anything again. He took a cigar case, and took out a single cigar and placed it between his lips. Silence came over them once again, as they felt the breeze hit against their skin. Once again, Ruby broke the silence between them again, “You know, after Destiny told my friends and I, that your her dad, she would talk about you nonstop, whenever we bought up the subject, but… She never really talked about her mom. So I gotta know… What was Trinity like?”  _

 

_ Roman chuckled slightly, as he took a puff, “Well for one thing, she had a bit of your stubbornness when it came to helping people. She was talented and smart, though she wasn’t necessarily good at fighting let me tell you. I had to teach her how to aim from a gun, when we were teenagers.” _

 

_ “Really? She wasn’t good at the whole fighting thing?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ “Not everyone in the world can be talented as you are when it came to fighting.” Roman said, “But she tried anyway, and though she had her flaws, she found a way to improve. You should’ve seen her when she showed off her skills. She was almost robbed by a common thief, but let’s just say, she really showed him who's boss. She broke all of his fingers and gave him one hell of a nose job. She left me speechless.”  _

 

_ Ruby laughed amusingly at this, “Sounds like she was tough.”  _

 

_ “That she was.” Roman said, “I think, you would’ve liked her. Nah, who am I kidding, you two would’ve been best friends.” _

 

_ “She does sound like a cool person.” Ruby said.  _

 

_ “We practically grew up with one another, and we came from similar backgrounds.” Roman said, “We both hated our own families. I hated my dad for what he put me through, and she did not like her stepmom because of what she turned her family into after her father died. We’ve had a hard life together after we found each other, through thick and thin we had each other. She helped me see through what I thought the world was, and I protected her from all the kinds of darkness that would try to hurt her, and eventually…”  _

 

_ “You two fell in love.” Ruby said with a kitty smile as she was moved by what he was telling her.  _

 

_ Roman cleared his throat, “Okay, I can’t take you seriously, when you make a face like that.” _

 

_ “I can’t help it! It just sounds adorable!” Ruby said.  _

 

_ “You sound a lot Destiny when I told her this.” He said removing his cigar from his mouth and tapping on it slightly to get rid of the ash, “I think she might’ve rubbed off on you.”   _

 

_ Ruby couldn’t help but giggle slightly at this, before her she thought back to what he said to her. “Wait a minute…” Ruby said, “You said that, Trinity ran from her own family because of her stepmom? Why? Did something happen?”  _

 

_ After taking one last puff from his cigar, he removed it from his mouth, and crushed it. He than tossed it into the dying fire, as what firewood remained burned up his cigar. _

 

_ “Red…” He said, “Sometimes you shouldn’t dig into things that are meant to stay secret. They’re just some things I’m not ready to share, both about myself and what Trinity’s life was like before we got together.”  _

 

_ “Didn’t she say to why she left her family to you?”  _

 

_ “Of course she did. But after she told me, she asked me not to tell anyone, and I kept my word to her even now.”  _

 

_ “Why?”  _

 

_ “Because I know the cost of what happens when you decide to open up your mouth and talk. You get people hurt, and when that happens it comes back to haunt you for the rest of your life.”   _

 

_ Ruby said nothing but read the expression on his face; she saw that he had a look of solemn at a certain thought. Though as if reading her thoughts, Roman had explained to her why, “My best man suffered the consequences when I told him about the life I had after my mom took the coward's way out. He said he would go straighten things out with him, and bring proof of what he did to me to the authorities as payback, though he went missing for a few days. I figured, he was having trouble giving me a call, but a few weeks later, I get a visit from an officer from Atlas. They told me they arrested my father, but… Right after they did, they found his body in a shallow grave. They told me he was tortured for days before he was killed.”  _

 

_ Ruby gasped at this, and placed a hand over her mouth at the thought of this. She had no idea, the man she encountered in the Dust Shop, the man she once considered an enemy, had endured so much. She knew what it’s like to lose someone, but… To hear something like that, from a once known thief. First the death of his wife, but now she heard in his voice that there was guilt to leading someone as close as to his best men to his death. She could tell, no she heard it in his voice. She placed a hand on his shoulder, as a way to comfort him.  _

 

_ “I’m so sorry Roman.” Ruby said with solemn, “I didn’t know…”  _

 

_ Roman looked to Ruby and said nothing, not even a thank you, instead, he cleared his throat, and stood up. “It’s still late out.” He said trying to hide his expression, “We should get some sleep.”  _

 

_ “Roman…” Ruby said standing up stopping him, “I’m glad you told me, really. I know it’s not easy to tell those kind of things, but… I just want you to know that despite our differences in the past, that myself, and everyone else will be here for you. Whenever your ready to tell us.”  _

 

_ Roman still had his back to her, but she saw him turn his head slightly to her, “Let’s just… Let’s just try to get some sleep.”  _

 

_ “Okay.” Ruby said but she smiled a little.  _

 

_ She knew he didn’t want to say it out loud, but saw that there was no need; She heard it in his voice. She heard his gratitude to her. _

* * *

 

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Present; Hours After Battle_ ** -

 

That night after everything between the man by the name of Tyrian, the two Shadows Diamond and Elise, and an apparent Rogue Maiden, the whole group left the town carrying their wounded in a hurry. Though the teams tried to search for their enemies to at least have an idea of where they went or try to capture one of them while they were injured to get information. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen after the fight came to an abrupt end. Scout attended to those that were wounded, after they found a place to camp for the night. They pitched up tents (Scout had packed them) for Roman and Cristal since they couldn’t risk their wounds getting infected from the bacteria in the forest. She even offered to pitch a tent for Qrow, but he told her that he was fine with sleeping on the ground.

 

Once everyone had settled down, Qrow had decided to follow up on his question, “What’s your favorite fairy tale?” He told them everything that he and Ozpin told Pyrrha on that same day, on the days of the Vytal Festival. It took them the entire day to listen to what he had to say, as Scout was looking after Cristal and Roman, who remained unconscious; Senka was laying down by Cristal’s tent, and Frosty was on Melody’s lap, who had on a makeshift cast for her arm.

 

He had told the group that he knew of the existence of the Shadows, and the flower known as the Efah, and even more shocking information. Everyone of course was left speechless by this new found information, and even Qrow himself was surprised of their silence. 

 

“What?” He said, “You all don’t have any questions?” 

 

“What are talking about? Of course we all have questions.” Neo said to him. 

 

“This is… This is just a lot to take in.” Jaune said.

 

Qrow let out a sigh, “Sure, of course.” 

 

“Okay, just to be fair, I want to point out that I did sort of know about this…” Rosario said awkwardly earning a look from the group, “... But that whole thing that you told us and this Rogue Maiden we saw, yeah I was kept in the dark about that.” 

 

“Rosario.” Melody said, “Timing.” 

 

Rosario turned to Melody, “Not good?” 

 

Melody shook her head, and Rosario adjusted herself in her seat, “Right, timing.” 

 

Ruby twiddled her thumbs as she turned to her uncle, “If… I understand you correctly… These Maidens, are powerful fighters, that don’t need Dust to use magic.” 

 

“Yeah.” He said. 

 

“And they’re always four of them?” Nora added. 

 

“Yup, always.” Qrow said. 

 

“Which means that whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone--A female--that they care about?” Ren had also added. 

 

Qrow had clarified for them, “Whoever is in their thoughts last. Important decision. The best option is to pass it on to someone we can trust. Regardless their souls are combined in a way.” 

 

“And that’s what you were trying to do to Pyrrha.” Jaune said glaring at him, “The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them.” 

 

“The previous Fall Maiden Amber had been attacked.” Qrow explained, “She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant who we all know now is the little girl’s kidnapper Cinder, somehow managed to steal her power but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn’t do something. The rest of it would go to her as well.” 

 

“So you forced it on Pyrrha!” Jaune said with anger in his voice. 

 

“Jaune take it easy.” Melody said, “No one said he forced her to do it.” 

 

“Really because it sounds like she wasn’t given any other choice!” 

 

“You don’t know that for sure!” 

 

“Well you don’t either because you were busy out here on some wild goose chase instead of going school like a normal person would!” 

 

This time Melody was one with the glare as she looked over to Jaune; Qrow took notice of her change of expression, “Don’t you dare, bring my life into this like you know my story.” 

 

“Well we don’t since you’ve been keeping that information from us too.” Jaune said returning the glare.

 

“That’s enough, both of you. We can all agree that we’ve had enough fighting for one day. No need to start another one.” Qrow said to his daughter and Jaune making them stop their arguing, before turning to the young man, “Look, we didn’t force any of this on her. We explained the situation and we gave her a choice, and she choose.  **_You were there_ ** .  **_You heard her_ ** .” 

 

Jaune clenched his fists, and hung his head for a brief moment, before standing up and walking away from the group. No one did anything to stop him since they figured he needed to cool off. “Okay.” Rosario said breaking the silence, “Again, I’ll admit that other than the fact a Maiden could be anyone of the women out in the world, I knew that there could be four of them and I’ve seen one in action before ***** . But earlier today Cristal told us, that Elise is a Rogue Maiden, so that makes five of them. Care to explain that?”

 

( **_*Remember Rosario's small role in The Child of Grimm? Chapter 9: The Past to the Present?_ ** )

 

Qrow let out a sigh as he replied, “A Rogue Maiden hasn’t been since the time of the Great War, and none of the headmasters, not even Oz hasn’t seen one since than. But we kept an eye out for her, in case she appeared again.” 

 

“How is there even a Rogue Maiden?” Melody asked, “Based on what you told us about the Maidens it seems standard to how that girl Amber got her powers, but how did that girl, Elise get it?” 

 

Qrow explained, “The powers that Maidens have doesn’t stay with them forever; as they die they go to a new host, and they are able to chose its host in the event it’s transferred to a man. But sometimes the power get’s smart whenever it realizes it’s in danger at least that’s what we know. From what we’ve learned, during mid-transfer the power would split itself into two parts, and while the first half goes along with the procedure, the second will go into a host that’s compatible to that of its previous in order to protect itself.” 

 

“And Elise…  **_Pyrrha’s Shadow_ ** , ended up getting it.” Ruby finished. 

 

“But… She’s a Grimm Hybrid like Cristal.” Ren said, “How is she able to posses a power like that if she doesn’t have any aura?” 

 

“Your question is as good as mine.” Qrow replied before explaining, “But I can tell you that Elise was completely unaware that she even had that power to begin with, most people are when it comes to being a Fifth Maiden. If she was aware, she would’ve used that same power, to get the upperhand, and they would’ve succeeded in their mission. Unlike a regular Maidens power, the Rogue Maidens will lie dormant inside the host's body. Sometimes the power will show up, and sometimes it won’t at all till it reunites with its counterpart. To make matters worse, just about anything could trigger it to come out, if left unchecked. It could be an emotion that sets it off, or when the host is in danger, hell, even **_memory lapses_ ** can get it riled up. If the person is left unaware of its existence when the power is released, the host wouldn’t control it at all,  **_it would control them instead_ ** . And just like the Grimm it  **_will_ ** attack anything or anyone on sight, it wouldn’t matter who’s friend or foe to them.” 

 

“Basically what your saying is Elise herself had no idea that this power was inside of her…” Rosario said. 

 

“And after something unlocked it, she went on a rampage against us with no control or no knowledge of what she was doing what so ever.” Neo soon added. 

 

“If you want to put it like that, than yeah.” The Huntsman said taking out his flask. 

 

“That explains why she attacked those two--Diamond and Tyrian without a second thought.” Ruby said, “But… Why did they come after me and Cristal in the first place?”

 

Qrow took a moment to drink from his flask before replying, “Well you definitely painted a target on yourself after what you did at Beacon. It’s like I told you before, having silver eyes is a rare trait. The fact that you were able use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes. Those that do aren’t very happy that one has surfaced. As for Cristal, since she is a Shadow, it’s most likely because she’s upset some powerful people that aren’t too happy about her going against them or maybe they’re trying to recruit her to their inner circle. Either way I can tell you neither of those things are good. I’ve been keeping an eye on you since you left Patch, and when you all got together to keep you safe.  **_All of you_ ** .” 

 

The whole group looked to one another, slightly unsure of something. “Than why not just save the trouble and travel with us, like Roman and Neo?” Ruby asked her Uncle, “It seemed like that would be a lot easier.” 

 

“ **_He was using you as bait._ ** ” Jaune said, getting their group's attention. 

 

“Don’t you dare say that.” Melody said, her anger coming back slightly, “You don’t know my father like Ruby, Yang and I do. I’ve known him longer than you have, and there’s no way he would use his own family, his  **_own_ ** loved ones as bait to get the enemy to come to us! He cares about his family!”

 

“Melody, take it easy.” Her father said, with a calm yet stern voice; he than said to Jaune, “And to answer your question, it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

 

Jaune finally turned back at him to yell, “What  **_is_ ** all of this!? Destiny ends up getting taken by these people, Ruby and Cristal are being hunted by those same people, Roman could’ve died today, and all for what!?  **WILL YOU JUST TELL US WHAT’S GOING ON!?** ”

 

Qrow just looked over to Jaune, and finally let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyebrows. “Would you sit down? You’re stressing me out.” He said to him. Jaune took a seat as Qrow himself took another sip from his flask; after wiping his mouth he began to tell them a story. 

 

“Not many people are religious these days. This world has been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin,  **_two of them are actually real._ ** It all began with two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one spent his days creating water, plants and wildlife. At night the younger brother would wake to see all the things the elder made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother’s creation, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine all he could do to rid Remnant life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something - something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything.” 

 

“...  **_The creatures of Grimm_ ** .” Ruby said. 

 

Qrow nodded, and continued. 

 

“The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn’t last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation… together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow - the path of light or the path of darkness. **_And that is how Humanity came to be._ ** ” 

 

“But… What does this have to do with us?” Ren asked. 

 

“Well here’s the kicker.” Qrow said, “See, the four gifts to mankind - knowledge, creation, destruction and choice,  **_aren’t just metaphorical_ ** . Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they’d be able to change the world.  **_That’s exactly what the enemy wants_ ** . The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity’s protectors, but they also have another purpose…  **_Guarding the Relics_ ** . When Ozpin's predecessors founded the school's, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself… And of course, keeping them out of  **_her_ ** reach. And that’s about the jest of it.” 

 

“Her…” Ruby said, “You mean,  **_Salem_ ** , don’t you?” 

 

“That’s right.” Qrow replied, “Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that’s not what matters. What matters right now, is that she’s after the Relics. And if she gets them, than it’s not going to end well for all of us.” 

 

It wasn’t long before Rosario herself had realized something at the mentioning of Salem. “That’s it…” She said, the whole group turning to her, “That’s who Cristal is forbidden to say to us.” 

 

The group turned to each other perplexed by this. “What makes you say that?” Neo asked. 

 

“Really think about it.” Rosario said, “When she told us that Cinder wasn’t the one behind the fall Beacon she admitted someone more powerful was behind the attack. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Salem would target these schools for the Relics and Cinder would just happen to be targeting the same place where a Relic would be. For that matter, Cristal also said that she knew the person in control, but couldn’t say her name because of the Contract she’s under ever since she was made. It all fits! Salem is the one behind the attack, she’s the one that put the Contract of Silence on her and the other Shadows we saw. She’s the ones that’s been keeping her and her sisters on a leash. And I’ll bet you anything, she’s the one who infected that kid with Grimm.” 

 

The group not including Qrow, lightly gasped at this, realizing that it all made sense. Cristal telling them about the person, but say who she is or even mention her name because of the terms of the Contact of Silence. It even made sense to them, how Destiny had gotten her eye in the first place. With the Relics added to the equation, it would make the most logical sense to why Beacon was targeted in the first place. But their was just one thing that didn’t make sense to it all, at the very least to Ruby. 

 

“Why take  **_her_ ** than?” Ruby said. 

 

Qrow didn’t quite hear her, since she mumbled her words.

 

“Sorry?” Qrow said. 

 

“ **_Destiny_ ** . Roman’s daughter. Cristal said to us, that Tyrian was the one that took her and he even admitted to doing it. We now know that he works for Salem, and I know she couldn’t say her name, but she said she infected her with Grimm when she was a baby.” Ruby said, “So, why take her? How does she even fit into all of this? Is it because of Roman? Is this about punishment for him going against them?”

 

“Yeah.” Jaune said, “What does she have to do with all of this?” 

 

Qrow looked in his flask and saw that their was little bit of beverage left inside; he drank a couple of more sips before saying, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure why why she got a kid like Destiny involved in this or why she wants her to begin with, but the most likely theory is, it has something to do with the bloodline she comes from.” 

 

“Bloodline?” Nora asked, “What do you mean bloodline? Do you mean Roman’s?” 

 

Neo let out a sigh when she saw Qrow looking in her direction; the group turned to her, “No, he means Trinity’s bloodline.” 

 

“Roman’s wife.” Ruby said.

 

Qrow said getting their attention back, “Trinity didn’t exactly come from a regular old family. And not in the, abusive, or mob kind of family way. Her family, many would say put the meaning in different, at least, after Trinity’s father, by the name Xan passed away and her step-mother Quinta took over. Let’s just say she changed the rules of how the family ran things and got them into **_some nasty business_ ** , and probably…  **_That’s what got them all killed_ ** .” 

 

Everyone seemed shocked to hear this. “Killed?” Ren said, “What do you mean killed?” 

 

“I think I should answer that.” Neo said. The group turned to her, as Neo sat closer to the fire, “I was there when Trinity was visited by Atlas, about what happened. It was around the time when she found out she was pregnant, and I was their for extra help while Roman was at work. I saw the look on her face after she talked to them, and at the time, I didn’t understand why she looked so terrified. When Roman came home later that day, I overheard her telling him what happened, and I understood why she had that look. She was told that yesterday night, they found her entire family dead; a room in the house, filled with nothing but corpses.” 

 

“... What happened?” Ruby asked. 

 

“With respected reasons they left out the gory details on how they died, but…” Neo said started to say, “But they told her… They were sealed in a room that was locked from the outside, and one by one… they were all  **_executed_ ** . Many of them tried to escape but, it ended up being useless and let’s just say it was worse for those that tried to fight back.” 

 

Everyone had a horrified looks on their faces, at the thought of the whole family being executed in a single night. “Oh my God…” Rosario said trying to prevent herself from seeing the imagery. 

 

“Do you know why they were killed?” Nora asked. 

 

“No, I’m afraid I don’t. No one does really.” Neo said, “I would’ve asked Trinity, but, I’d rather I didn’t since by that time she was already put through enough stress as it is.” 

 

“Maybe… It could have something to do with her family tree?” Ren suggested. 

 

“Yeah.” Ruby said, “Maybe Atlas can look into it?” 

 

Qrow soon said to them, “It’s not that simple I’m afraid. After Trinity realized she was pregnant, she went through a lot of trouble as to erase any record of herself and of her family secrets. She didn’t want anyone know to who she was or where she came from. And a certain someone, by this point, you can guess who, went through a lot of trouble to have someone drop the her families case altogether.”

 

“How do you know that?” Jaune asked him. 

 

“Because Ozpin was the one who went through a lot of hoops to hide Trinity’s history and even her pregnancy from the world and from time to time, I kept checking up on her and Roman, before he turned into a thief. Old Ironwood tried to look into the family case, but was quick to realize that it turned into a cold case.” Qrow said, “As you can imagine, Salem ended up finding out about her child anyway. After Weiss told us about Destiny I started to do some digging, and through various sources, I found out that Trinity was supposed to die the night her family did. But only after Destiny started to come around, they suddenly postponed her death sentence. They made sure she was alive, until the big day came. They just waited a year after to make their move and finally kill Destiny’s mother. Salem didn’t just choose to infect the little one for nothing you know. If anything she has a reason for it.” 

 

“You mean to say Trinity was hiding something. About Destiny?” Ruby asked, “Why? What was she hiding about her that she didn’t want anyone else to find out?”

 

“I think it’s best, if Roman’s the one to tell you.” Qrow said, “She is her husband and respectfully Destiny’s father after all. If anything, he’ll tell you more about it, if he wants to.” 

 

The whole group was silent once more as they took in this new information. Everything about the relics new information about Trinity, and even clues as to why Destiny was taken in the first place. Though they had all this new information they had more questions than it did answer. 

 

Finally Jaune was the first to speak up, “Alright, so let's say we believe all of this. There really is this, crazy evil behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. That and she’s the one responsible for taking Destiny and infecting her with Grimm and putting the Contract of Silence on Cristal and these other Shadows. Why doesn’t anyone else know? Why doesn’t the world know? Why isn’t Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?” 

 

“And why aren’t we in more of a hurry to get to Haven?” Nora asked. 

 

“What if they’re next on the list?” Melody said, “We should hurry over there and warn them of the coming attack!” 

 

“You don’t think the other Headmasters are completely unaware of what happened do you?” Qrow said, “He’s not dumb, after he saw what happened he’ll be on his guard. Besides it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack at Beacon overnight?” Qrow turned over to Jaune, “And to answer your question, it’s the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. We would have another Great War on our hands, only this time…  **_You’d have to fight._ ** ” 

 

Jaune turned away from Qrow, crossing his arms over his chest as he did. 

 

“Look…” Qrow said, “I had the same questions too. But ol’ Ozpin always put his foot down. ‘We can’t cause panic.’ he would say.” He laughed slightly at this, “Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that. Salem’s smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants so when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other. **_She’s trying to divide us_ ** \--Humanity, and so far…  **_She’s done a pretty good job._ ** ” 

 

Qrow leaned back slightly, his head tilting back as well, looking to the shattered moon above; he grasped his wound that had been wrapped in bandages as he heaved out a sigh. His attention was drawn from the sky as he heard his niece say, “Alright… So what should we do?” 

 

Everyone looked to the Huntsman and Qrow looked to them. He chuckled slightly, “I don’t really know. Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the other headmasters. Like I said, the schools are important to stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack and Vacuo, is well Vacuo. It’ll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against the other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, and add Cinder and her crew who claim to be from Haven, is most likely their next target. So… We’re on our way to the headmaster. Haven’t heard from him in awhile, even before the attack. I’m hoping he has the answers, and hopefully he at least has an idea to where they might’ve taken Roman’s kid.” 

 

Qrow stood up from where he sat and stretched, he groaned in agony slightly due to his wound. “Alright, it’s getting pretty late.” He said to them, “It’s about time you kids get some sleep.” 

 

Ruby stood up from her seat, “Uncle Qrow…” She said, causing him to turn to her, “This is a lot to take in… And it all seems crazy, but… A little girl once told me and my friends, that a criminal was her dad, she could talk to Grimm, and she could take away the anger they felt. I did what I could to help because I trusted her. And just like than I’m willing to trust you. But there’s just one more thing that I want to understand… Why couldn’t you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy? Maybe you could’ve--” 

 

“Ruby.” Melody said cutting her off, “It’s not that simple to why he decided to lag behind and keep an eye on all of us. It doesn’t have anything to do with trust. It’s the same reason he had when he was watching me the first few weeks after I left home, even though I told him it wasn’t necessary.” 

 

“Melody?” Ruby said, “What do you--” 

 

Qrow was the one to cut her off next, “She’s right. It’s not that simple, this has nothing to do with trust, besides… It’s a long story.” 

 

“Really?” Neo said, “You tell us all of these things, and now your tired of telling stories?” 

 

Qrow looked to the fire before kneeling before it. He took a stick nearby and started to poke at the firewood, “Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but… It’s how I got my name. See, some people can absorb electricity, and some people can burst into rose petals, and some, are just born unlucky. My semblance, isn’t like most…  **_It’s not exactly something I can do_ ** . It’s always there, whether I like it or not.  **_I bring misfortune_ ** .” He couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly at this, “I guess you can call it a bad luck charm. I’ll admit, it does come in handy when I’m fighting an enemy. But… It makes it harder on friends…  **_And family_ ** .” 

 

Qrow soon stood up, holding his side looking to the group. 

 

“Well, your just a real bundle of help aren’t you?” Jaune said, earning a glare from Nora, Ruby and Melody. 

 

“Alright, what is your problem tonight Jaune?” Melody said standing up while Frosty jumped off of her lap, “He already told us everything that we needed to know, so what more do you want an apology or something?” 

 

“Well I’m sorry, if I’m asking too much maybe I’m just tired of everyone being all secretive with all this stuff going on right now!”

 

“That doesn’t mean you have to have the attitude Jaune! I mean literally these past few minutes as he telling us all of this, all you’ve done is basically complain and take your anger out on a man who had his reasons for keeping this a secret from everyone! I mean are you deaf right now?!” 

 

“You guys come on, don’t fight…” Nora said. 

 

Jaune ignored Nora before saying to Melody, “Like your one to talk! You and Rosario have been keeping things from us, like you did when you admitted that you knew about Cristal and what she was, and that you kept it from us! How do we even know that your telling the whole truth!?” 

 

“They’re reasons why people keep secrets!” Melody said, “Didn’t you ever stop to consider that oh, I don’t know, that they were trying to protect you!?” 

 

“Protect us!? What good is protecting us, if you kept important information like that from us!? People should know about these kind of things!”

 

“You heard why people shouldn’t! It would cause a panic! Do you want everyone to just constantly look over their shoulder if they knew that some scary evil lady is going after the schools to get these powerful relics?! Are you seriously that dead in the brain!?” 

 

“As far as I know I’m not the one who’s dead in the brain, maybe you are!” 

 

“What is that supposed to mean!?” 

 

“Jaune don’t!” Ruby said trying to stop them from arguing. 

 

Jaune still ignored his friends as he said to Melody, “Did  **_you_ ** ever stop to think about going back to Beacon after you heard the news about what happened!? Why didn’t you decide to go back to at least see if your cousins were even okay!? Or were you too busy just out here on some scavenger hunt!?” 

 

Melody said nothing this, but her face remained expressionless. Qrow noticed the look in her eyes, “Kid, you should really end this argument here.” Qrow said to Jaune calmly. 

 

“No.” Jaune said before saying to Melody, “You know what, here’s something that I want to be made clear, you said he looks out for his family but what about you?! You could’ve gone back home to check on them but you didn’t, you just stayed out here instead of going back! Why?! Do you even care about your own family, do you even give a damn about what happens to them!?” 

 

“Jaune!” Everyone yelled getting him to stop. At this point everyone went silent as they looked over to Melody. Her head was down, and she looked to the ground as they saw her hand shake. Finally she clenched her fist and stomped over to Jaune. She grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie, which caught him by surprise, and she hit her forehead against his, hard, leaving a noticeable bruise. 

 

This had taken everyone by surprise even Ruby. Finally Jaune looked up to Melody and saw that her eyes were different, instead of the usual indian red eyes she had eyes that were of a black color, and her pupils were thin and narrow. 

 

“ **WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY DAMN LIFE!?** ” Melody yelled, Jaune noticing a pair of fangs, “ **AND HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME ABOUT NOT CARING ABOUT MY FAMILY! YOU DON’T KNOW ALL THE HELL THAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH BEFORE I LEFT HOME! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE ME!? WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO MAKE SUCH ACCUSATIONS BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU THINK IS CRUEL!? WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT** **TO TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON OTHERS BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID INSECURITIES, AND BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID BELIEFS OF WHAT’S RIGHT AND WRONG!? WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE FOR WHO PEOPLE ARE!?** ” 

 

“ **MELODY!** ” Qrow yelled placing his hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. She didn’t turn to him but he knew she was listening, he than said with a calm voice, “It’s okay… Just calm down, I’m right here. Listen to my voice. Come back to me, Melody.” 

 

Melody took deep breaths; her eyes looked horrified as she realized what she was doing when she saw the shock and scared look on Jaune's face and everyone else's. She blinked and her eyes changed back to indian red and she let go of Jaune while her fangs just seemed to disappear. Without saying another word, or not even thinking, she shoved Qrow out of the way making him stumble slightly and she just ran into the forest; Frosty started to follow not to far behind her. 

 

“Melody wait!” Ruby said about to go after her, but Qrow stopped her. 

 

“I think it’s best if I go talk to her.” Qrow said to Ruby, “You guys just focus on getting some sleep.” 

 

“Is she going to be okay…?” Nora asked concerned. 

 

“Only one way to find out.” Qrow said as he started to walk in the direction Melody ran to. “Is there anything else that you want to tell us?” Ruby asked making him stop halfway. Soon enough, a crow landed on a tree branch; he turned to the bird as it cocked its head to the side.  

 

“Not tonight.” Qrow said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go calm down my daughter.” 

 

With that Qrow proceeded deeper within the forest, to where Melody ran to; The group was startled slightly when a log rolled out of the fire suddenly. Finally Rosario broke the silence between them as she turned to Jaune, trying to get over what happened and realizing what he said to her, “A word of advice, next time someone tells you to end an argument, you should listen.” 

 

“Oh God…” Jaune said, running his hands through his hair, “Did I really, say those things?” 

 

“I’m afraid so.” Ren said. 

 

Jaune put his hands over his mouth, trying to calm his thoughts, regretting every word he said to her. He eventually turned to Ruby, “Ruby I’m so sorry… I didn’t know what I was saying, I didn’t mean to… Damn it, why didn’t I shut my mouth?!” 

 

“I know you didn’t mean it.” Ruby said to him, “We’ve just all had a rough day.” 

 

Scout soon came out from one of the tents, and finally joined the group; she was holding a few towels that were stained with red and Cristal’s jacket was folded up nicely and stained with red as well. She also had three vials of some form of purple liquid, most likely from the poison. “Um…” She said awkwardly, “... Am I, interrupting anything?”

 

“No, you’re not, don’t worry.” Rosario said reassured. 

 

Ruby went over to the young Fanus Fox, “How are they?” 

 

Scout sighed and replied while going to her bag, “Well, Roman’s wound was difficult to treat, and I extracted most of the poison to make the right formula for an antidote. Unfortunately I only had enough to make one dosage, so let’s hope that your uncle didn’t get the same poison. The antidote should kick in overnight and he should be back to normal first thing.”

 

“So he’ll be okay?” Neo asked. 

 

“He should be.” Scout replied, getting out a pan and a wash rack from her bag, “The only thing we would have to worry about is him doing anything drastic with the wound he’s got, but other than that, he should be fine.” 

 

Everyone sighed with relief at this, at the fact that Roman was out of any danger. “What about Cristal?” Jaune asked, “Is she going to be alright?” 

 

Scout replied with her ears going droopy, “It’s… It’s hard to say. She took a pretty bad hit when she fought against Tyrian, and her wound had gotten infected when you guys were fighting Elise, she’s already showing a high fever. I cleaned up her wounds and gave her some medicine to help with the pain, and a cooling pad to help at least bring the fever down. All we can do is wait and see I’m afraid.” 

 

Everyone had a worried expression on their faces at the sound of Cristal’s condition. “I was going to go and find a river to get this blood off of her clothing and the rags, and was going to ask Melody to come with me, but…” 

 

She looked and saw that she was indeed missing, “... It looks like she’s not here. Did I miss anything?” 

 

“Why don’t you and I go and take a walk and I’ll fill you in on the way?” Rosario said, putting her arm around her shoulders. She than grabbed Jaune by the hood of his jacket, “You are coming with us, blondie.” 

 

“ **GAH! CHOKING NOT BREATHING!** ” Jaune exclaimed trying to get out of her grip.

 

The remaining teens watched as Rosario dragged Jaune away into the forest and Scout walking beside the two of them.  “Welp, he’s dead.” Neo said to the now small group.

* * *

 

Qrow looked walked through the forest looked to see where exactly Melody ran off to. It had always been like this for Melody when she was child. Everytime something like,  **_that_ ** were to happen, she always ran away scared of what others would think of her when they saw her lash out the way she did. It would make kids run the other way that’s for sure. If he knew his daughter, well he would know where to find her. Qrow eventually heard sounds of crying, and hiccups nearby. He turned and followed the sounds to a large tree on it’s side but their was an opening in the middle of the tree; he could tell that it was a den of some kind. 

 

He saw the little white fox, named Frosty sitting on the outside of the den, and from their Qrow knew she was in there. He approached the den, and as he kneeled down, he groaned slightly from his wound. He looked inside and there she was in a fetal position. 

 

“I swear you haven’t changed since you were a kid.” Qrow said, making her flinch slightly, “Everytime you got upset, you would always find a place to hide. Only difference than you drove your Uncle crazy when you went to hide like this. Everytime that happened he ended up calling me, sometimes when I’m in the middle of the job, and it did make for some awkward conversation.”  

 

Melody shift her body slightly, making herself go deeper into the den. “Go away dad.” She said with a cracked voice, “Please.” 

 

Qrow scoffed at this, “Right. Like I’m gonna leave my only kid without her weapon and in the wilderness on her own.” 

 

Melody said nothing to this, and only buried her face in her knees. “Why don’t you come on out of there?” He said reaching in, “You look ridiculous.” 

 

With her good hand she smacked his own away, “Please just go… I feel **_it_ ** , trying to get out, trying to take over… I don’t want  **_it_ ** to hurt you…” 

 

“Have you seen how I am?” Qrow said while giving her a “Really” look, “I took on a scorpion Fanus today and got a taste of his stinger, how much more hurt can I get?”

 

Melody let out a small laugh through her tears but even that didn’t last long. “Well…” Qrow said as his knees touched the floor, “If your not gonna come out, I’m gonna have to come in.” Before Melody could protest, Qrow had started to move into the den. With a slight groan he sat next to her, leaning back against the wall. “Not exactly cozy in here, but I’ve been to worse.” 

 

“Dad, stop you’ll make it worse!” Melody said through her tears as she tried to push him out, though he refused to move, “Please just go! Just leave me alone!” 

 

Qrow put his arms around her shaking body causing her to freeze up; her face staring into his chest. “I’m not going anywhere okay?” Qrow said, “Your my little girl. There’s no way I would leave you alone, especially now.” 

 

“Dad, please!” Melody said as she tried to push herself off of him even going as so far as to hit his chest, “You don’t know that  **_thing_ ** like I do! It wants to hurt you, Ruby, and Yang and everyone else I care about, that’s all  **_it_ ** wants!” 

 

Qrow gently shushed her, as he took Melody’s hand to get her to stop hitting him, “It’s okay, it’s alright.” Melody’s head sank into his chest, as the tears continued to fall from her face. Qrow pulled her closer, as he brushed her hair in a comforting way, as he continued to shush her gently. For a long time they were both like this, Qrow just held onto Melody in his strong arms, as Melody herself leaned in against his embrace, as her cries started to soften. Finally he broke the silence between them, “That was Ruby’s first time seeing you lose your cool like that, wasn’t it?” 

 

He saw her shift her head; nodding to him. “Did you tell her about it?” He asked. 

 

“... And let her be scared of me…  **_Like mom was_ ** …?” Melody said, her voice cracking slightly. 

 

“Ruby would never be scared of you, you know that?” Qrow said. 

 

“But you saw the way she looked at me…” She said, pushing herself out of his hug, “That’s same look mom gave when I… I… My mom left you, left me because of what happened… I don’t want Ruby, want the others to run away because of something  **_I_ ** can’t control… **_I didn’t ask for a shape-shifting semblance_ ** ! I sure as hell didn’t ask for  **_it_ ** to have  **_it’s_ ** own mind! I didn’t ask for  **_it_ ** , to hurt them, to hurt anyone, that talked about me like they knew my life story, that made fun of Yang and Ruby, that said awful things about Auntie Summer when she didn’t come back!” 

 

Qrow seemed to understand what she was saying as he replayed those words, “... I see now…” He said, “ **_You aren’t just out here to find my sister, aren’t you?_ ** ” 

 

Melody rubbed her eyes, trying to prevent herself from crying even more, but failed to do so, “... Before, I met my team, before I was reunited with Ruby… I was doing fine. I was actually learning to control it learning where it came from… But after seeing what I was about to do Jaune, after what he said to me… I know now I can never be in control. It’s like kind of like your semblance… It’s always there whether I like it or not… I think, maybe I’m just better off alone.” 

 

“ **_Wren…_ ** ” Qrow said to her, calling Melody by her middle name this time, “Look at me.” 

 

Melody turned her head away, refusing to look in her father's eyes, but let his fingers go under her chin; he moved her head to look at him, “Melody Wren Branwen, listen to me very carefully. I know you want so badly to let it know that your the boss and that your the one in charge, but it’s not going to help you if your out on your own like this. It’s not going to help you, by being away from the people you love all the time.” 

 

“But I can’t hurt anyone if I’m alone.” 

 

“That maybe true, but in the end you’d only hurt yourself, and trust me, that’s never the way to do things.”

 

Qrow wiped away her tears as she looked to her dad with her eyes bloodshot red. She turned so that she was sitting on her side in his lap, so that her head rested on his shoulder, and Qrow held her, just like that, as she still cried softly. 

 

“You don’t need to have this kind of life Wren.” Qrow said, “Your just hurting yourself more and more the longer your out here. I can help you fight against it, your uncle and your cousins can help you fight against it.” 

 

“... How do you know that you can help me?” 

 

“Because we’re your family. Families never leave each other behind. Families don’t let others carry the weight by themselves, and they sure as hell don’t sit back and let others suffer for it. That’s something your mother didn’t seem to get when she ran out on us. I don’t even think my own sister didn’t understood that when she left Tai and your cousin.” 

 

Melody didn’t say anything to Qrow, she just listen to what he had to say. 

 

“You’ve got people you love back home, but the longer your out here, the more you block them out. And I know you had your reasons for not coming back or even doing so much as making visits, but messages and video chats aren’t enough.”

 

“You can’t help me…” Melody said softly, “No one can…” 

 

“Now your just talking nonsense.” Qrow said, “Your friends will be able to help fight through this, and myself, Tai, Ruby and Yang will help you fight through this, but only if you let them, if you let me. Just know whenever your ready to tell them, we’ll all be here for you.”

 

Melody shut her eyes as she took deep breaths; more tears seemed to trail down her face at her father's words. Finally she put her arm around him and buried her face into his neck, hugging him again; Qrow returned the hug to her, despite his pain. 

 

“I’ve missed you dad…” Melody said, “I’ve missed you so much…”

 

“I missed you too Melody…” Qrow said, as he placed a kiss on her head before resting his forehead against the top of her head. They both stayed like this, as Frosty curled sat outside of the den; the sounds of crickets echoed throughout the night. Qrow once again to broke the silence, “Just promise me one thing.” 

 

“What?” Melody said. 

 

“Promise when this is all over, you’ll think about going back home.” He said, “You know it’s not safe for you being out here, and I’m not just talking about the people around you. I know you made this promise to yourself, and Yang, but you can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep carrying the weight on your own; you don’t have to be alone in this.” 

 

Melody was hesitant about this, but eventually nodded her head, and whispered, “... I promise.”

* * *

 

Scout, Rosario and Jaune managed to find a river with clean water that Scout could wash off the blood from Cristal's torn jacket and her rags that she had used to clean up her and Roman’s wound. They had filled her in about everything what Qrow had told them, and why Melody wasn’t with the group. 

 

“Wow…” Scout said as she washed off the blood on the rags, “And I thought what Cristal told us was hard to believe, but… I think that takes the cake.” 

 

“Yeah, this whole thing…” Rosario said leaning against a tree nearby, “The fall of Beacon, the Maidens, this Salem person, whoever she is… It’s bigger than anyone could’ve imagined.” 

 

“I can see why they would keep this all a secret.” Scout said, “Everyone would’ve lost trust in one another, and start making accusations… It would lead to nothing but blood shed.” 

 

“Never thought I’d say this even after all they did, but I’m really starting feel sorry for the White Fang.” Rosario said, “Wait till they find out they’re being used for a bigger game.” 

 

“All I can say is that certainly won’t end well.” Scout said. She took out a dirty rag from the pan, and placed it on the side, dumping the dirty water to the side before getting a new batch of water from the river. Rosario smirked at this, “Right.” 

 

She soon turned to Jaune who was sitting on a boulder with his hands in his hair. “How you holding up blondie?” 

 

“I…” Jaune said, “I can’t believe I said all of those things to her.” 

 

“You were pretty pissed I’ll give you that.” Rosario said to him. 

 

“I didn’t mean to say all those things.” Jaune said, “I know I didn’t mean it, but… I was just so angry…” 

 

“People tend to say a lot of things when they’re angry.” She said, “Trust me I know.” 

 

“... What if she doesn’t forgive me for this…? I saw the way she looked at me, I heard everything she said… Who am I kidding, she’ll never forgive me like this.” 

 

“You never know unless you talk to her.” 

 

Jaune turned to her, “Okay, no offense but your not exactly helping.” 

 

Rosario chuckled slightly, “I know. I was never one to give a good pep talk. My brother though, he’s the one better at this than me.” 

 

Jaune was left with a quizzical expression, “Your brother? You never said you had a brother.” 

 

“That’s because you never asked.” Rosario said. Scout looked to the two off them as she finished cleaning up Cristal’s jacket and Roman’s shirt. “Uhh… I should head back to camp.” Scout said as she quickly stood up and quickly walked away leaving the two of them alone. 

 

Jaune sat there silently before Rosario continued, “Did you know that he’s my twin? You’ve most likely met him already, I mean he did attend your school, technically. Despite us being twins, we don’t look much alike, but we do have a little something in common. We both lost something that we can never get back and we didn’t exactly grow up in a nice household either.” 

 

Rosario gestured to her prosthetic leg, giving it a good smack, though she saw Jaune slightly confused by this which didn’t surprise. “I figured that wouldn’t ring a bell.” Rosario said, “But come on, how many people did you know at Beacon that have the last name  **_Black_ ** ?” 

 

Jaune was still confused by this until he realized why the name Black sounded familiar. “Mercury Black?” Jaune said shocked, “He’s your brother?”

 

“He most definitely is.” Rosario said, “Though as you can tell, even before the CCT was destroyed, we haven’t been keeping tabs on one another. We just… Grew apart.” 

 

Jaune was still surprised to hear this new kind of information from Rosario. To hear that someone like Mercury even had a sister. It was a shock to him really; as if he needed to be put into more of a shock. “What… What happened?” Jaune asked. 

 

Rosario took a deep breath and sighed, before explaining, “Mercury and I didn’t exactly have a happy life like those lucky kids in Patch. We grew up in what we call a second hell. We grew up in the underworld of Remnant, and it isn’t exactly a kind place especially to us kids. Our father Marcus Black, was an assassin, and I’ll admit he was good at what he did. But at home, he wasn’t kind to us, not since our mom passed away. She died protecting me and Mercury from a car crash; she saved our lives sure, but we both lost something that we could never get back. I lost my leg and he lost both of his. Every day, every night our father would could come home drunk, grab one of us by the hair and start kicking at one of us until we started to bleed, all because he thought it was our fault. We both ended up getting our fair amount. Hadn’t it been for Mercury, my mind would’ve been broken. And if it hadn’t been for me, he would’ve lost his smile. We both did as twins would do, we looked out for each other, kept one another safe. We promised each other, that one day, we would escape from him, and start our own life. A life better than the one we lived.” 

 

Jaune’s eyes widened at this, “Rosario… I… I’m sorry that happened to you…” 

 

“Why are you apologizing when it wasn’t your fault?” Rosario said before continuing, “It had gotten worse for us when he forced his teachings on us. He spent what money he had from one of his job to get us new legs, and started to teach us how to fight like him. He was trying to make one of us his next assassin for when he retired or was killed on the job. Than one day, when both reached our peak in our lessons, he tells us to fight one another, and the winner, would be his successor. Unfortunately that meant one of us had to die.” 

 

“He… Was forcing the both of you to fight…?” Jaune said, surprised and shocked at this. 

 

Rosario nodded, “Of course, I told my father, that I didn’t want to kill the only brother, and he snapped at me. Mercury ended up attacking our dad first, when he came after me, and I eventually started to back him up. The fight must’ve lasted for hours and we both took a pretty hard hit. We even ended up destroying what little we had on our home in the process.” 

 

“... What happened?” Jaune asked. 

 

Jaune saw Rosario bite her bottom lip, but she seemed to reply calmly, “ **_... We ended up killing him that night_ ** . Our fathers life was first life we took, and we didn’t regret doing it. But… Wouldn’t you know it? We only traded that hell for another…” 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“Because the night we killed our dad, was the same night that demon lady…  **_Cinder_ ** showed up. She told us, that, we would change the world for the better. And for a awhile I was actually stupid enough to believe her words. That is until…” 

 

“You fought against a Maiden.” Jaune finished for her.

 

Rosario nodded her head, “All of us fought the one called Amber, and let me tell you she was extremely powerful despite her inexperience. I honestly think she was more tough to handle than Elise. But after the fight and the dust settled, I saw what she did to her, how she stole her power. I could never forget the smile she had, as she took  **_her own life force away_ ** . She enjoyed it, it was… Like a game to her, it was sadistic and grotesque. She had no remorse for what she did, she only displayed enjoyment through her eyes and her haunting smile. After I saw for what Cinder really was, I realized that everything than would only get worse, it was a matter of time. So… I left her faction, her inner circle, and I tried to get Mercury to come with me, but he wouldn’t have it. In the end I left him behind, and not a day goes by, when I regret not trying harder.”

 

Jaune took all of this new information in, from what Rosario had told him. He heaved a sigh and looked to her, “Do you… Have a point to telling me this?” 

 

“I do actually.” Rosario said, “People have reasons to keep these they’re deepest darkest secrets from people. I kept mine because I was scared that you would hate me and think that I’m like my brother. Cristal is keeping her secrets, because well Salem would literally kill her and us. Melody has own reasons for keeping hers, and Qrow and Ozpin all the headmasters have theres. They keep it from others because they think it’s the right thing to do. And sometimes they’re right. Sometimes it’s better for others to be kept in the dark. You had every right to be angry tonight, but… That doesn’t mean you had the right to judge people for their decisions on right and wrong. Anger can give us strength, but it also tends to be our weakness; we push away the people we love and care about without knowing it, we even push away the people. By the time we realize it, it would be too late to fix things. That’s exactly, what the Headmasters want to avoid.” 

 

Jaune looked to Rosario and thought about what she said. It actually did make sense the more he thought about it in his head. His rage, his anger he felt towards Qrow when they told him and his friends everything, he just felt like he couldn’t trust Ruby’s Uncle, the Huntsman that sat before him. He saw that’s how the people would feel if they were told about this from the start. Everyone would make accusations, point fingers at the wrong people instead of the enemy who was really responsible. Now he seemed to have get the idea to why he didn’t say anything from the start. Scout was right, there would be nothing but bloodshed. 

 

“Come on.” Rosario said holding her hand out to him, “We should get back to the others, and if Melody came back, you can apologize to her, if, she’s not, well you know going to give you the silent treatment.” 

 

“Okay.”  Jaune said taking her hand, and he stood up. They turned and just when they were about to start walking back to camp, Rosario stopped in her tracks when she heard Jaune say, “Hey… Thanks.” 

 

All Rosario did was smile and wink to him as her way of saying your welcome before they went down the path they took earlier.

* * *

 

Ruby carried a bunch of firewood and tossed them into the fire. As she brushed her hands and went to her bag to get her sleeping bag she heard a groan from the tent nearby. She went to towards the tent and pushed aside the curtains and saw Roman, sitting up and rubbing his head; his hair was untied so it was hanging loosely. “Roman!” Ruby said, going inside the tent to go sit by his side, “Your awake! How are you feeling?” 

 

“Like I’ve been to a party and had one too many drinks…” Roman said, as he went to crack his neck. Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at this, before saying, “You scared us all half to death! We were really worried about you. We didn’t know if you were going to make it after Tyrian got you with his stinger.” 

 

“That explains why my side is hurting.” He said, “Did I miss anything while I was under?” 

 

“Well… that’s a really long story.” Ruby said, “We’ll be sure to explain it all in the morning. I’m just so happy your okay!” 

 

Ruby threw his arms around him, and Roman groaned in agony, causing her to quickly jump back, “Oh sorry! I forgot you’re injured!” 

 

“Ow, damn it…” Roman said rubbing his side, “Did I ever tell you that you pack a punch Red?” 

 

Ruby laughed nervously as her face turned red slightly, “Sorry, I forget my own strength sometime.” 

 

“... What happened in Oniyuri?” Roman asked, “Is everyone else alright?” 

 

Ruby’s expression changed as she looked away avoiding his gaze. Roman was quick to notice this, “Red?” He said, “What’s wrong?” 

 

Ruby took a deep breath as she replied, “... My Uncle Qrow, ended up helping us in the fight with Tyrian and the other Shadows, but before that… Cristal sort of lost it, after you passed out. She went after Tyrian, and… She was hurt real bad.” 

 

Roman’s eyes widened slightly at this news, “Is she going to be alright?” 

 

“We’re… Not sure…” Ruby replied, “Scout said she took a pretty hard hit.” 

 

“Did you managed to find the people that attacked us?” 

 

“No. We tried to look for them, but we couldn’t pick up any trace of them, or where they ran off too.” 

 

Roman let out a sigh, as he ran a hand through his hair, “Damn, what a day. Is their a plus side to this?” 

 

“I did shoot off Tyrians stinger, so that’s sort of a plus.” Ruby said. And Roman couldn’t help but chuckle at this, “Well you know what they say, payback's a bitch.” He said. Both her and him shared a laugh at that remark, figuring that they had to lighten the mood somehow. But soon the laughter ceased as Roman let out another groan, “Ah God it hurts to laugh.” He said grabbing his side again. 

 

Ruby looked to his wound, and her expression fell from her face again, at the thought of what would’ve become of the former thief before her. She gulped as she looked to her legs; she felt tears come to her eyes and fall from her face. “I’m… I’m sorry…” She said with her voice cracking. 

 

“Sorry?” Roman said, before noticing that she was crying, “Hey, what’s the matter?” 

 

“... I’m so sorry… It’s all my fault that this happened to you…” Ruby said, “I should’ve… I should’ve done something instead of just sitting there… I should’ve fought back sooner, than maybe… Maybe you could’ve--You could’ve… I’m so sorry Roman… I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you…” 

 

Roman saw Ruby bury her face in her hands, as she rubbed her eyes, to get rid of the tears only to fail. Roman reached out and patted her on the head; she froze and picked up her head to look at him, “But you did help me.” He said to her, “You helped save my life today.” 

 

“But you were hurt!” Ruby said, “You could’ve died!” 

 

“But I’m not, thanks to you.” He said, “I think this makes it, what? The sixth, no seventh time you’ve saved my life, I’ll be honest I lost count.” 

 

“It’s all my fault this happened to you, and to Cristal…” Ruby said, “It’s because of what I did that they came after me and her, they just---” 

 

“Hey, don’t do that.” Roman said, “The last thing we all need right now is for you to start to blaming yourself for what happened today. You couldn’t have known about them, and you couldn’t have known that, we would both end up like this.” 

 

Ruby finally managed to get her tears away, but she still sniffled. “Red, it’s not your fault that I ended up like this, and I don’t blame you for it. I don’t regret doing what I did, as long as I know the people I care about are safe than it’s fine by me.” 

 

Ruby seemed to have a shocked expression on her face, before it turned into a smile, “Aw, I knew you cared.” 

 

“Don’t start pushing it.” Roman said to her. 

 

Ruby couldn’t help but giggle but soon she took notice of the scars on his chest and arm; some of them looked similar to what Tyrian had, but each one seemed to tell a different story altogether. She saw them as battle scars, most likely from the days when he used to steal for a living. It was something she couldn’t help but wonder; how many times it had been before he almost bite the dust? How times did he almost leave Destiny alone to fend for herself? How many times, did he almost go to where Trinity was? 

 

“Now what’s the matter?” Roman asked, noticing that she was staring again.

 

Ruby decided to hold off on her question about Trinity, for now, and she asked him, “Do they still hurt?” 

 

“Do what still hurt?” Roman asked. 

 

“Your scars…” Ruby clarified, gesturing to them, “Do they still hurt?” 

 

Roman looked to his scars that were on his arm to his shoulder connecting along to his chest. He sighed, “Sometimes they do.” 

 

“How… How did you get them?” She asked hesitating as she did. 

 

Roman tried to sit back before groaning in pain from his wound; Ruby quickly went to his side, as she helped him to sit up. Finally he replied, “Most of these scars are reminder, from when I was kid. The rest, are from my previous jobs as a thief.” 

 

He saw the look in her eyes; she showed sympathy through her expression. She said, “... I can’t believe, that all this time, all these encounters we had with each other when we were enemies, I didn’t realize that you went through so much in your life. You lost your wife, Destiny’s kidnapping, and what you went through when you were a kid.” 

 

Roman said to her, “... There is no way of knowing who people are Red. You can’t just take one look at a person and suddenly know they’re life story at the drop of a hat.” 

 

“But maybe if I had known I could’ve--” 

 

“Helped me? I believe you on that one Red. But unfortunately the past just stays where it is. We can’t change what we’ve been through and what we’ve done. It’s just how life works. We just take a leap, and hope for the best for ourselves and for others.” 

 

“Even go as so far as to keep things from the people you love?” 

 

Roman had said nothing to her this time, instead he just took a deep breath and heaved a sigh. He once again ran a hand through his hair, as he let his elbow rest on his knee. Finally he spoke up, “Listen Red… We’ve been traveling for months, since the fall of Beacon, and I know they’re just things I’m not ready to talk about, since I’m not exactly one for sharing… But after all we’ve been through, and what I put you and the others through today… You deserve to know the truth…” 

 

“... Okay…” Ruby said. 

 

Roman looked to Ruby as he removed his hand from his hair; finally after a moment he--

 

“Roman!” 

 

Both of them jumped slightly when Neo had suddenly entered the tent; she had a relieved look on her face when she saw that Roman was wide awake. “Oh thank God, you’re alright!” Neo said, going over to him, and hugging him. “Neo?!” Both Ruby and Roman said, in complete and utter shock. In the next second Neo had pushed herself out of the hug and punched him right in the arm; her eye color switching as her expression changed to anger. Roman groaned slightly at this as Ruby’s jaw dropped at what just happened. 

 

“What the hell Neo?!” Roman said rubbing where she punched him, “I’m an injured man here!” 

 

“It’s your own fault for almost getting yourself killed!” Neo said to him, her eyes squeezing out tears, “Never scare me like that again you idiot!” He groaned again, as he rubbed his arm, “I think there’s going to be a bruise later.” He soon froze up when Neo through her arms around him again; He hesitantly put his arms around the girl with ice cream hair. 

 

Ruby said to them awkwardly, “Uhh, you guys seem like your going to have a lot to talk about, I’m just going to go and check on Cristal, see if she woke up yet.” 

 

“Yeah, Red.” Roman said, “Thanks for checking up on me.” 

 

“No problem.” Ruby said with a smile, before leaving the tent. 

 

Ruby went over to where Cristal was, which Senka laid beside as if to keep guard over her. Of course he didn’t so much as flinch when he saw Ruby approach the tent. She heard faint coughing coming from inside, most likely due to the fever she had. Ruby stepped inside the tent, and saw Cristal laying on her side, letting out hoarse coughs. Her jacket had been removed, it had revealed the red eye on her back; bandages were seen around her shoulder and on her arm and around her head. 

 

Ruby saw her eyes still closed shut and her face was flushed red and she was sweating from the fever. Ruby kneeled by her side, having a look of worry on her face. 

 

“Hey there Cristal…” Ruby said, “I came by to check on you, seeing if you woke up yet but… I guess not huh?” 

 

She heard Cristal letting out raspy breathing after the coughings stopped; Ruby waited, as if to hear a response from her but wasn’t all surprise when she didn’t get any. Ruby spoke up again, “I… I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can… We know about it, what you won’t tell us; we know who’s name you can’t say. Uncle Qrow filled us in on what’s really going on. And, we know Salem, is the one who put the Contract on you and the others, and that she took Destiny. I just want you to know, that, we’ll do whatever we can to stop her. We’ll do what we can, to free you and the others from her control, so you won’t have to be afraid of her anymore, and that you can be free to do whatever you want and say what you want to say, and that rule, maybe it will go away too. We’ll get Destiny back, and she can finally be with Roman, and maybe you can all be a family too.” 

 

Ruby heard her let out coughs again, and Ruby couldn’t help but pat her on the back to help her out. “Well, Cristal, I hope you feel better in the morning. Good night.” 

 

Before Ruby could leave the tent she suddenly heard--

 

“... I’m… Sorry…”

 

Ruby turned back to Cristal when she heard her voice. But she saw her eyes were still closed as she moved her lips; Cristal turned on her back and that’s when Ruby noticed her tears. 

 

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Cristal said as she cried, “... It’s all my fault… It’s all my fault…” 

 

“Cristal?” Ruby said as she went back to her side, and tried to shake her awake, “Hey, wake up, your having a bad dream.” 

 

“... I could’ve…” Cristal continued to mumble, “I could’ve saved her… It’s my fault… It’s my fault she’s dead…” 

 

“Hey, get hold of yourself.” Ruby said softly as she continued to shake her gently, “Your just having a nightmare okay?” 

 

Despite this, Cristal turned her head to the side, as she said through her tears, “... She’s dead because of me… I could’ve saved her, but **_her eyes_ ** ...  **_That rule_ ** … If it hadn’t been for that rule… I would’ve been able to save her…  **_Ruby_ ** _ …  _ **_I’m sorry_ ** _ … _ ” 

 

Ruby’s eyes widened in shock, and she stopped shaking Cristal. Those words… Those words Cristal kept repeating over and over. She remembered hearing them before, after the fall of Beacon, after she did… Whatever she did to the dragon. In fact, now that Cristal has been with them for some time, she remembered her voice before than. 

 

**_“Get up!”_ **

 

**_“Ruby… I’m sorry…”_ **

 

**_“If you don’t move now they’re going to die! Get up and fight for those that are still standing!”_ **

 

**_“Ruby… I’m sorry…”_ **

 

The words echoed through Ruby, like someone was calling out to her in a cave, and Cristal continued to talk in her sleep. She looked to Cristal as she saw more tears roll down her cheek. 

 

“ **_It was you… It was you all along…_ ** ” Ruby said not knowing if she heard her, “You helped me back at the Coliseum… And you were there when I was unconscious…I didn’t realize up till now…” 

 

“I’m sorry Ruby…” Cristal continued to say, “... I’m so sorry… Please… Please don’t hate me… I’m so sorry…” 

 

Ruby looked to Cristal, seeing her continue to cry and repeat her words; She could tell from her voice that she was scared, and she couldn’t help but look to her just with solemn. She must’ve been wanting to tell her this, for sometime, but judging from her face, judging from her voice, she must’ve been so scared to tell her. Too afraid to come forward because of what she herself would think of her. It was just like the situation when Destiny first told them about Roman and her eye; she was too afraid of what she might think of her. She took Cristal's hand, and put her forehead to hers, just to let her know that she was there. 

 

“Cristal… How can I hate you, when it wasn’t your fault…?”

* * *

- **_Meanwhile; Mistral, Farmland_ ** -

 

Both Oscar and the little one Destiny sat with her legs crossed in the air, as she watched him read a book. She tried to read along with the words in his book but still had difficulty doing so. She tilted her head back and forth, when she was stuck at one sentence; Oscar soon noticed this. 

 

“What’s the matter?” Oscar asked her. 

 

“Well…” Destiny said looking the book, letting her body turn upside down, “... I know my dad, taught me how to read when I was like 5… But I just can’t make out these words, they’re just big.” 

 

“You know, you don’t have to read with me.” Oscar said to her. 

 

“I know, but… Again I can’t exactly touch anything when I’m like this.” Destiny said turning right side up and laying on her stomach, crossing her legs as if she was laying on a bed, “And flying around, though it is fun, does tend to get boring after a while. Until I know where my body is exactly and I can return to it, I have to pass the time reading with you.” 

 

“Your one strange kid you know that?” Oscar said to her with a joking smile. 

 

“Hey!” Destiny said, “I’m not strange, I’m just different in a good way.” 

 

“Is there really a difference between those things?” 

 

“There is to me!” 

 

Soon enough his Aunt called to him from downstairs, “Oscar! Supper's almost ready!” 

 

“What are we having?” He  said. 

 

“Doesn’t matter! You’re eating it!” 

 

“I never agreed to these terms!” 

 

“It’s part of the “living under my roof” contract! Read the fine print and come wash up!” 

 

Destiny couldn’t help but laugh at this, “I like your Aunt. She’s really funny.” 

 

“Maybe when your get your body back I can introduce you.” Oscar said, closing his book. 

 

“I’d like that a lot.” Destiny said with a smile, “I think I’m going to explore the farmland some more. Just to pass the time. Enjoy your food!” With that Destiny went straight through the window and and flew off into the distance. Oscar placed his book on the side; he stood up and approached the door and--

 

“ _ We have to leave _ .” 

 

Oscar stopped for a moment after hearing the voice from before; the voice that said it’s name was Ozpin. He continued towards the door and reached for the doorknob. 

 

“ _ Oscar. _ ” Ozpin called out, “ _ Oscar. _ ” 

 

Oscar clenched his fingers turning it into a fist before moving it away from the doorknob, “... I’ve decided that your not real, so you might as well just give up.” 

 

“ _ I understand your feeling. _ ” Ozpin said to him, “ _ I went through the same panic and confusion. _ ” 

 

Oscar turned away from the door and took the book from his bed; he went to go put it back under the shelf. “It’s not real…” He said aloud, “It’s not real…” 

 

“ _ I can assure you. You’re completely sane. _ ” Ozpin said. 

 

“First, a girl who’s some kind of ghost appears to me, and now I’m talking to a voice in my head.” Oscar said as started to go towards the door. 

 

“ _I didn’t say you were normal._ ” He said, “ _I just said you were sane._ _There’s a significant difference between--_ ” 

 

“Shut up!” The young boy snapped at the voice, “You think this is funny?! It’s not.” 

 

Ozpin said to the young boy, “ _ And we are in complete agreement on the matter I promise you. Believe me, I wish this weren’t the case. But it’s as I’ve told you before…  _ **_Our Aura_ ** _ … Our  _ **_souls_ ** _ are combined. _ ” 

 

“... I’m done listening to you.” Oscar said. 

 

Ozpin was silent for a moment and Oscar took that as his cue to leave, but--

 

“ _ Have you ever been to  _ **_Haven_ ** _? _ ” Ozpin suddenly asked. 

 

“I told you before, I’m not going.” He said, “And I told you I’m done listening to you.” 

 

“ _ Do you think you can describe the headmasters office _ ?”

 

“No. Why would I know that? I’ve never been too--” 

 

“ _ Just try. Right now. _ ”

 

Oscar let out a sigh and shook his head, wondering why he was even doing this; He shut his eyes as he did what he was told. 

 

“I don’t know…” He said, “It’s…” 

 

He stopped himself as the images started to come through clearly in his head, “... It’s autumn colored… With a mahogany desk. There’s a small table with chairs in a corner. With a tea set…  **_That I gave him_ ** …” 

 

Oscar had a panicked expression on his face, as he put his hand to his forehead, “Why do I know that? Why did I say that? Why do I know that?!” 

 

“ _ Because I helped build that school. _ ” Ozpin replied, “ _ And the tea set was gift to the man running it now. _ ” 

 

Oscar sat on his bed and just held his head, like it could roll off at any moment, as he tried to collect his thoughts. “ _ If you don’t believe me you can look it up. _ ” Ozpin said, “ _ If I recall your aunt has several books on Mistral downstairs. I’m certain you could find a picture in one of them. _ ” 

 

Oscar opened his eyes, as he realized something, “That’s right… I must’ve seen it in a book…” He let out a sigh. 

 

“ _...Oscar-- _ ” Ozpin said. 

 

“Shut up!” Oscar yelled standing up, “Stop talking to me!”

 

“ _ I have grave responsibility to uphold. _ ” Ozpin said, “ _ For the sake of Destiny’s life and everyone else's we both do. _ ”

 

“Destiny? How do you know her?” Oscar said, “And I never agreed to anything!” 

 

“ _ Well, I don’t exactly know her, but I was acquainted with her mother. _ ” Ozpin said, “ _ And I know you didn’t agree to anything. Neither did I at first. But you have an opportunity. _ ” 

 

“An opportunity for what?” 

 

“ _ Greatness, hopefully. Greatness knowing that when the world needed help,  _ **_you_ ** _ were the one to reach out your hand. It won’t come without hardship without sacrifice. But I know, that you don’t want to live the rest of your life working as a farmhand in Mistral. And I know you want to help that girl. You feel like you owe that to her mother Trinity after you saw what became of her, when she was only doing what any mother would. _ ” 

 

Oscar’s eyes widened slightly at this, just shocked that Ozpin knew something like that. “Did you just decide to read my thoughts?!” He said. 

 

“ _ No. _ ” Ozpin replied, “ _ Well…  _ **_They’re our thoughts now_ ** _. _ ” 

 

Oscar let out a groan, putting both of his hands to his skull, “ **GET OUT OF MY HEAD!** ” He screamed. And just like that, there was silence. No response from Ozpin, just the sound of him breathing heavily, as he once again tried to collect his thoughts. 

 

“Oscar!” He heard his Aunt yell, “Supper time! I better see clean hands!” 

 

Oscar turned to the door, and after he calmed down, he stood up and left his room.

* * *

 

Morning came throughout the surrounding area, and the rays of the sun gone through the leafs of the trees, while the morning dew was seen on the grass. The whole group slept soundly in their sleeping bags, and those that were wounded slept in tents, except for Qrow who slept against a tree, with his daughter Melody, her head resting on his shoulder; A blanket was seen around the both of them to keep them warm for the night after the fire went out. The whole group started to wake up with a groan; they sat up and stretched all the while they let out a yawn. 

 

“Well look at that… Morning already…” Rosario said as she fixed up her bed head; she grabbed two of her hair ties and a brush from her bag. After she combed it, she went to tie, her hair into twin-tails. 

 

“Man, what a night…” Nora said, standing up from her sleeping bag. 

 

Ren sat up, and got himself out of his sleeping bag, “We should probably get moving.” 

 

“Yeah.” Jaune said sitting up as well; he said to the group, “Alright everyone, let’s gather up our things.” 

 

Scout emerged from Cristal’s tent, and the whole group saw that she was caring a several rags stained with something. They noticed the aroma from it as they went to plug their noses as they made a groan of disgust. Roman soon came out from his tent and caught whiff of the smell too. “Holy hell, what is that?!” He said as he stood up, groaning slightly. 

 

“Sorry everyone.” Scout said, “Cristal kind of threw up this morning, must be her body trying to get rid of the infection. I was just going to go back to the river to clean this up.” 

 

“You mean she’s not better?” Ruby asked with worry. 

 

Scout shook her head sadly, as she went to the pail and wash rack, “Unfortunately no. I would give her some pain medication to help, but I ran out of it last night.” 

 

“Don’t you have any antibiotics to help her?” Neo asked. 

 

“... I already checked everywhere in my bag and my pouch.” Scout said her expression filled with slight panic, “But they must’ve slipped out when we were fighting Tyrian, and those other two. I’m really sorry.” 

 

Everyone in the group looked at each other with concern and worry for Cristal. They stood their in silence as they thought of what to do. “I’m really sorry guys, if I had known, I would’ve gone back for…” 

 

“It’s okay Scout.” Jaune said, “It’s not your fault.” 

 

“What’s going to happen to her?” Rosario asked, “Can’t she heal herself?” 

 

“She isn’t like us Rosario.” Scout said, “She doesn’t have any Aura to help her. Without the antibiotics, and without Aura, she could… She could…” 

 

Scouts words trailed off, and they came to their own conclusion on what was going to happen to her. This made them worry all the more. “There’s nothing more I can do for her, I’m afraid.” Scout said, “Our best bet is to get her to the next town. Maybe they can help her.” 

 

“Okay.” Ruby said, “Okay. We have to leave here right away, and get over there! We’ve gotta save Cristal! She’d do the same thing if it were any of us!” 

 

“Right!” Jaune, Ren and Nora said.

 

“We’ll do what we can.” Roman said and Neo nodded with him. 

 

“At least things can’t get any worse, right?” Rosario said with a shrug. But just as this was said, they heard Melody yell, “ **SCOUT! SCOUT COME QUICK! IT’S MY DAD!** ” 

 

The group turned to Melody, and they finally noticed that Qrow was coughing; Scout quickly pushed her way through the small group and Ruby followed, and went over to the Huntsman. “What happened!?” Scout asked. 

 

“I don’t know!” Melody said, “He just started coughing!” 

 

Scout soon lightly gasped when she saw, a purple liquid on Qrow’s wound and Melody’s hoodie. “Uncle Qrow!” Ruby called out as she got closer to her uncle. Scout acted fast and stopped Ruby in her tracks, “Wait, wait stop! Stop!” She said, before telling Melody, “Melody get away from him, and take off your hoodie, now!” 

 

“What!? Why?!” Melody said with panic in her voice. 

 

“Just do it! Hurry!” Scout said. 

 

Melody was hesitant, but she pushed herself away from her dad as he continued to cough. She quickly removed her makeshift cast and took off her hoodie, despite the pain, revealing her blue t-shirt with black sleeves under it. Finally after moments, Qrow removed his hand from his wound and went to wipe his mouth and that’s when he saw the purple liquid. The group saw this too, and their eyes widened in horror; Ruby and Melody gasped in horror. 

 

Qrow looked at his hand and turned to the group. “Well…” He said turning to Ruby and Melody, “... That’s unfortunate…” 

 

And just like that, his vision turned dark and the last thing he heard was his niece and daughter calling out to him. 

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For The Rain TV Sized Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	13. Consequence of Choices

- ** _Three Years Ago; Vale Apartments 3G_ ** -

 

_Two weeks came and went since Roman returned home from the hospital. The doctor had said, with some rest he should make a speedy recovering. Most of his injuries had healed, but he still stayed home with Destiny much to the little ones happiness. Today Roman had decided to go over her homeschool lessons, that he had been teaching her thus far, unbeknownst to him, Cristal had decided to sit back and watch to see what exactly he taught her._

 

_Cristal saw as she sat at the kitchen counter, he was teaching her some math problems for fourth graders. Though she was stuck on a certain problem._

 

_“Read it to me again.” Roman said._

 

_“I’ve read it twice already and I still don’t get it.” Destiny said as she rested her chin on the table, “... Can’t I just skip this problem and come back to it tomorrow?”_

 

_“Come on Princess, this is the last problem for the day and than we can stop okay?” Roman said to her, “Now come on, read it to me again.” Destiny sighed as she pulled the paper towards her; she looked to the problem, and read it aloud, “¼ + ½. I don’t know if I can even add this problem.”_

 

_“It’s not that hard if you look past the problem. Here watch.” Roman said, before writing an example on the side. Destiny watched carefully as he solved the example problem. “If you just find what’s common about them, than, you’ll be able to see that the problem is easier than it seems.” He said, as he finished up; Destiny watch what he did and she seemed to understand._

 

_“See?” Roman said, “Do you get it?”_

 

_“I get it now daddy.” Destiny said._

 

_“Good.” He said with a smile, “Now let me see you do it.”_

 

_Just when Destiny was about to do the problem they soon heard a knock at the door, and than it came a voice, “Roman? It’s Junior, we need to talk.”_

 

_“Destiny.” Roman whispered, to her, “Why don’t you go to your room, and finish up okay? Daddy’s gotta talk to a friend.”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head, and got out of the chair, taking the bag of medicine with her, paper and pencil. She than went down the hall quickly and quietly and Cristal followed closely behind her. She went inside the room and shut the door behind her._

 

_“Daddy’s friend huh?” Cristal said, but Destiny immediately shushed her._

 

_“Relax Destiny.” The young teen said as she sat at her bed, “They can’t hear what they can’t see. So you know that man, called Junior?”_

 

_Destiny shook her head as she went to the desk that was in her room; she than whispered, “I only know that daddy get’s his jobs from him, that he owns his own club. But I’ve never actually met him. Daddy doesn’t like me meeting his friends.”_

 

_“Because of your eye?” Cristal asked._

 

_“... No, not entirely.” Destiny replied, as she worked on the problem, “He says he has enemies. That… If people found out about me, they would take me away. And he doesn’t want that to happen.”_

 

_“Well enemies tend to happen when it comes to being a criminal.” Cristal said, “They just can’t help themselves.” Destiny let out a sigh as she stopped writing, “I know he does bad things, and I know the police don’t like him for it, but… He’s still my dad. I’ll always love him, like mom did.”_

 

_Cristal tilted her head slightly, she fell back into her bed as she sighed. “You seem to love both of your parents, despite the fact that no offense, you only meet your mom when you were a baby.”_

 

_“He tells me stories about her.” Destiny said turning to her, “How he knew her when I as about her age, what she liked, what she didn’t like, and how she ran away from my step-grandma because she didn’t like her.”_

 

_“That’s all he tells you?” Cristal asked._

 

_“He tells me different stories, and I learn new things about her everyday.” Destiny said. Soon enough she took a picture from her desk; being as quiet as possible she went over to her bed and handed it to her. “Daddy gave this to me a year ago.” Destiny said, as Cristal took the picture, “It’s from when he started dating mom for the first time.”_

 

_Cristal sat up resting on her elbows, and looked at the picture; she saw a young teenage girl with magenta hair and purple eyes. “Wow, I see the similarities to you and her.”_

 

_“Daddy and Neo say the same thing.” Destiny said with a smile._

 

 _Cristal couldn’t help but laugh a little, “So… Do you do this often, when your_ **_daddy’s friends_ ** _come to visit? You just hide in your room?”_

 

_“I told you before.” Destiny said, “I’m his secret. No one can know about me.”_

 

_Before Cristal could say anything more, they heard a knock at the room door; of course it was Roman. Cristal handed the picture back to Destiny and moved off of her bed towards the window sill, Destiny quickly went back to her desk, to where her math work was as if nothing happened._

 

_“Come in.” Destiny called out as she started to write again._

 

_The door opened and Roman entered the room, “Hey there Princess.” He said, “Sorry about the interruption, you know how daddy’s business can get.”_

 

_Destiny shook her head, “No, it’s okay. I think I figured out the problem.”_

 

_“Oh you did, well let’s see it.” Roman said, before he went over to her desk, and looked at the problem. “Is  the answer right?”  She asked._

 

_Roman smiled at this and hugged her, “Right as rain Princess.” Destiny couldn’t help but smile triumphantly, and he kissed her on the head._

 

_“I’m kind of hungry daddy. Can we get something to eat?”_

 

_“Of course, I am hungry too. What do you feel like eating?”_

 

_“Hmm… How about some beef curry? Can we have some beef curry today?”_

 

_“Sure. I think we might have the ingredients in the fridge, let’s go and check.”_

 

_“Oh, oh! Can I help you cook this time?”_

 

_“We’ll see.”_

 

_Cristal watched as the two of them walked out of the room hand in hand and back towards the living room and the kitchen. She couldn’t help but wonder as to how, a little girl like Destiny, knowing that her father was a criminal love him even though he is a thief. She couldn’t but wonder as to why, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but laugh slightly at how Destiny acted around her dad. She just acted happy like she didn’t have a care in the world._

 

_Cristal chuckled slightly, “You’re one strange kid Princess.”_

* * *

 ( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_** )

 

- ** _Present; Patch_ ** -

 

A few weeks had gone by since Port and Oobleck came by to visit, and since she, her father and the young teen Angel, had a certain talk about what should be done, as Yang herself couldn’t just sit back and feel scared over something that couldn’t never change, she had finally after she thought, and replayed the words from the words from her father Tai, and Ange said. She had finally decided to put on the arm that had been all the way from Atlas, and go back to training with her father.

 

That morning, Angel with his wounds having almost been healed, and the little corgi Zwei, sat on the sidelines, while they watched Tai and Yang engage in hand to hand combat. Both Yang and her father threw punches at one another, both of them blocking each others attacks. The pattern had repeated itself, over and over again, until Tai, spun himself around and threw a kick at Yang, but she managed to block him, which left Angel impressed. She managed to push him back, and threw a hard punch at Tai with her new robotic arm which managed to push him back several feet; and Angel couldn’t help but whistle at this.

 

Tai went to rub his arm and he let out a groan, “Whew! That thing packs a punch!”

 

“Well, what did you expect when you’re getting punched from a robotic arm?” Angel said jokingly as he stood up, and walked over to Yang, “Did you expect it to feel like pillows or something?”

 

Yang and Tai couldn’t help but laugh at that. After the laughter came to an end, Yang finally said, “Come on dad, we’ve been at this for a few weeks now. I get what your trying to do, you want to make sure that I can still fight.”

 

“Looks like you can still can to me.” Angel said with a smile. Yang smiled at Angel before they exchanged in fists to one another.

 

“You’re close.” Tai said to his daughter. He stood upright and circled Yang, as he assessed Yang’s progress. Yang gave a quizzical look to Tai, “I’m close?” She said, “Really?”

 

“You’re still off balance.” Tai said.

 

“What!?” Yang said, “No I’m not!”

 

Tai chuckled slightly at this, and Angel snickered at this as well earning a look from Yang, and he immediately stopped himself and gave an innocent look to her. “So… How does your arm feel?” Angel asked, “I am kind of curious about, since this is my first time seeing one of these up close.”

 

Yang turned to him and replied, “Honestly, I’m surprised.” She looked to her robotic arm as she moved her fingers, “I thought it would be this huge weight, but… It just feels natural. Atlas did a really great job with this.”

 

“I can tell.” Angel said, before commenting, “You’re a pro with that thing.”

 

Angel and Yang were both taken by surprise, when Tai rushed at Yang, attempting to punch her; Yang quickly blocked his attack while Angel backed up slightly. “I wasn’t talking about your actual balance.” Tai said. With a sweep of his leg, Yang was knocked off of her feet and she landed on her back and onto the ground with a grunt.

 

“Although that could use some work too.” Tai said as he turned and went over to a small stool that Zwei sat by. “Whoa, I did not see that coming.” Angel said as he held his hand out to Yang. She took his hand, and he pulled her up, so that she was sitting upright. Zwei took one of the towels and handed it to Tai; He took the towel from Zwei and patted him affectionately on the head.

 

“I saw your tournament fights.” Tai said, “During the Vytal Festival.”

 

Yang rolled her eyes, as she rubbed the back of her neck, “Oh, wait, let me guess, ‘ ** _I was sloppy_ ** ’.”

 

“No, no.” Tai replied, “You were, predictable, stubborn… And maybe a little boneheaded.” Yang gave a look to her dad, and Angel tilted his head slightly at this. Tai said to Yang, “Do you realize that you use your Semblance to win every fight, even after the qualifiers?”

 

“So what?” Yang said, “How is me using my Semblance any different than someone else using theirs?”

 

Tai soon started to explain as he tossed the towel to the ground; he approached Yang, and kneeled to her side, “Because not everyone else is basically a temper tantrum, and I’m being serious about it. Once you take damage, you can dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn’t make you invincible. True, it’s great when your in a bind but what happens if you miss? What happens if they’re stronger? What then? Now you’re just weak and tired! You’ve always been able to burn brighter than anyone else, whether it was with your smile, or... well I remember your first haircut.”

 

Angel snickered at this as he saw Yang turn red, “You had a haircut?”

 

“Shut up.” Yang said as she pushed Angel, affectionately making him laugh.

 

“But you gotta keep your emotions in check.” Tai said, “Keep a level head, and think before you act. Your Semblance can help you in battles but it can also be your fallback. You can’t let yourself rely on it all the time. It won’t always save you. **_Obviously_ **.”

 

Tai’s expression saddened at the thought of what had happened, as did Yang's expression. Angel gave Yang a comforting pat on the shoulder. Tai stood up and walked away from Yang for a moment, “I’ll tell you one thing, you have your mother's stubbornness.”

 

“Her mom?” Angel said tilting his head slightly again.

 

“Oh, so now we can talk about her?” Yang asked.

 

“Well, as I’ve been told you’re an adult, remember?” Tai said.

 

“... I’m sorry that I remind you of her.” She said turning away from him

 

“No, don’t be.” Tai said turning to her, “Raven was great in so many ways. Her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she believed in. I’m proud that I see her in you, but I’m also glad that I don’t see all of her in you.”

 

“Why?” Yang asked him.

 

“Why would you be glad about something like that?” Angel asked curiously.

 

Tai replied to the two teens, “Well, Yang’s mom, Raven, was a complicated woman. Like everybody she had her faults. But her faults are what tore our team apart. And… **_They did a number on our family_ **.”

 

He said to Yang, before pointing to Zwei who stood in the middle of them, “ You both act as if there’s an easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you can see…” Tai walked towards Yang and Angel, but stopped for a moment; He walked around Zwei, as he approached the both of them once more, “... There’s a way around it as well.”

 

Yang looked to her dad, and Angel took the words he said to heart as did Yang herself. Tai than reached out to Yang, “Come on, one more round before dinner.” Yang took his hand and she stood up; She was about to get into a fighting stance but she was surprised when she saw he wasn’t getting into a fighting stance.

 

“How about we make it more interesting?” Tai said before pointing to Angel, “I wanna see how you’re able to fight.”

 

Angel did a double take at this. He looked behind him than back to Tai, pointing to himself; Tai nodded to Angel. “You want me to fight your daughter?” Angel asked, “Why?”

 

“Yeah, I’m kind of surprised about that too.” Yang said.

 

Tai soon replied to Angel, “Well, most of your serious injuries have already healed, and after how I saw you fair out against that beowolf, I could tell that you could use some work too. No offense you’re a bit rusty.”

 

Angel rubbed the back of his head as he said, “Eh, it’s sad but true. I’ve mostly done traveling all my life and haven’t really caught up on my lessons, since… Well my dad. I guess the thought never came over me about reviewing some of my moves.”

 

“Time to change that.” Tai said before backing up giving him and Yang space.

 

Angel took a deep breath and cracked his shoulders and neck, stretching. After a moment, he had gotten into a fighting stance as did Yang. “Alright, you two ready?” Tai said. The two teens nodded to Tai, both of them ready to fight.

 

“3… 2… 1…” Tai said. With a wave of his hand he yelled, “ **GO!** ”

 

Yang and Angel charged at one another, throwing a punch but both were blocked. They both backed up and Angel went to attack first, as he went to delivered a kick. Yang ducked and caught him by surprise, when Yang threw a punch. Thanks to his Aura protecting him, Angel didn’t get a bruise but he stumbled slightly almost losing his balance. Though he recovered and went at Yang again, throwing kicks and punches whatever he could. Yang however was able to dodge with ease and divert his attacks; Tai nodded approvingly at this and smiled, clapping for Yang.

 

“That’s it Little Dragon!” Tai said calling Yang by her nickname, “Good job, now your using your head!”

 

Angel and Yang both repeated the same pattern, as they went against each other. As one threw punches the other threw back, with equal force. They kept at this with each other for awhile, until finally Angel had her pinned. He smiled triumphantly at this, “Ha! Got ya!” Angel said. Though he failed to notice that Yang was smiling deviously. Yang suddenly caught him off guard when she went under him and knocked him off his feet. Angel let out a scream as he was about to hurdle to the ground. Yang was able to stand herself back up and grab a hold of Angel’s hand before he could hit the ground.

 

They both caught their breath after having spared with one another. Yang gave a wink and a smile as she said, “Gotcha.”

 

“Oh, you’re good.” Angel said to her, as she helped him to stand back up, “You’re very good.”

 

“Alright.” Tai said to the both of them, “You both did good today. Though you can still use a little work Angel.”

 

“Ha, yeah, ain’t that the truth.” Angel said.

 

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow.” Tai said to him, “For now, let’s go get dinner started.”

* * *

 - ** _Menagerie_** _-_

 

Sometime had already passed since Blake and Kobi returned home, and both were equally nervous as they wanted to to talk to their own father. They had both left on, bad terms when it came to the White Fang, and both had equally regretted their words to their father, to their own parents since than. It was even worse for Kobi since he was one of the few members that attacked Beacon and Vale, and even released the Grimm into the school. He felt even more guilty about it, as he realized that there was no sense in justice by attacking people that had nothing to do with the White Fang. They both mostly avoid their own topics when it came to the past, since they had hated what they had both become.

 

They were both outside of their father’s office, with Blake looking at the view, while Kobi sat on the railing of the balcony making shapes with several pieces of string he had tied to his fingers. Every now and than he would pick up his head, and looked to the door. Finally he let out a sigh, “Okay… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t know if I can do this sis.” Kobi said.

 

“... Yeah, I don’t know if I can either.” Blake said, “Maybe we can try again tomorrow.”

 

“That seems like a good idea.” He said.

 

Just before either of them could take their leave they were suddenly startled by a familiar voice. Of course the voice belonged to their mother, Kali.

 

“You know…” Kali said, carrying a tray of tea, “... You two could always go in and say hi.”

 

“Mom…” Kobi said, “... Uh, we could just say hi, but… We’d rather not.”

 

“We… Just don’t want to bother him that’s all.” Blake said.

 

“A father’s never too busy for his children.” Kali said to the both of them.

 

“Not all of my friends would agree with you on that.” Blake said.

 

Kobi let out a groan, “I don’t know if we should go and talk to him… Like really, I’m not even sure if we--”

 

Kali couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, as she shook her head slightly; she approached Blake and placed a kiss on her cheek, and handed her the tray of tea, which caught her by surprise. Kali than went to her son, and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek too; though she took that moment to take the strings from Kobi letting it untangle from his fingers. “What the--Hey!” Kobi said, realizing the strings that were wrapped around his fingers.

 

“What is this?” Blake asked, realizing that she was now holding the tray of tea. Kali turned to walk away which surprised the siblings even more.

 

“Mom? Mom? Where are you going?” Kobi said nervously.

 

“Why are you leaving?” Blake asked, as she was nervous too.

 

“The two of you never been very talkative.” Kali said, “But that boy you brought home **_loves_ ** to run his mouth. I wanna hear more adventures of team RWBY, and a little more about your friend Destiny.”

 

With that, Kali took her leave, leaving the two siblings by themselves. They both jumped, when they heard their father's voice call from the inside, “Kali? Is that you?”  At this point the siblings shook, both of them equally nervous and scared. Blakes hands shook causing some of the plates to rattle, while Kobi just shook so as if he was left out in the cold. He soon got behind her and started to push her towards the door, “Why don’t you go ahead sis, as they say ladies first!” He said.

 

“H--hey!” Blake said, “Why do I have to go in first?!”

 

“Mom gave you the tea tray! So it would make the most logical sense!”

 

“How does that even make logical sense!?”

 

“I don’t know, it’s just my kind of sense, that and your older than me, so just go with it!”

 

Blake stammered attempting to say something to retort, but she couldn’t; all she did was let out a sigh. “Okay, fine, but if you bail out, I will end you.”

 

“Duly noted sis.” Kobi said.

 

With that being said, the two of them approached the door, with Kobi right behind Blake and Blake herself going in first. She opened the door and the two of them both entered. Ghira noticed that the two of them entered the room finding their father at his desk, filling out paperwork.

 

“Hey dad.” Blake said nervously.

 

“Evening pops.” Kobi soon said, peeking out from behind Blake.

 

“Blake, Kobi!” He said genuinely shocked, but stood up from his seat, “This is a pleasant surprise, come in, have a seat.”

 

The three of them went to the couch that had been available in the room, and they sat down; Blake went to place the tea tray on the coffee table, though Ghira gently took the tray from her hands. “Don’t worry I got it.” Ghira reassured Blake, “Please sit down.”

 

“It’s uh…” Kobi said awkwardly as he sat down next to his sister when she took her seat, “It’s… Nice to see you this evening. Are we interrupting you with anything? Like, work maybe?”

 

“No, it’s fine don’t worry about it.” Ghira reassured his son, as he poured tea into the three cups, “Besides I’ve been cooped up all day.”

 

He placed three cubes of sugar in the cup, before he handed it over to Kobi; He took the second cup, and took a couple of sugar cubes. “You still take sugar, right Blake?”

 

“Actually I uh--” Blake said.

 

“Oh, sorry!” Ghira said, as he pulled back nervously.

 

“No, no, no, it’s fine dad.” Blake said.

 

“Here, take this one.”

 

“It’s okay, it’s no big deal.”

 

“Your sure?”

 

“Positive.”

 

“Old habits I suppose.”

 

Blake and Kobi both took sip from their cup of tea. Kobi immediately almost gagged from the tea when it burned his tongue, while Blake winces from the sensation of the burn. “Might wanna let it cool first.”

 

“Right.” Blake said.

 

“Noted.” Kobi soon said.

 

They both placed their cups of tea, on the table; an awkward silence came over the three of them, as they didn’t know what the next thing should be said right now. Finally Ghira had spoken up, breaking the silence between the three of them, “So… Kobi…” Ghira said, “... Have you been, catching up on your studies?”

 

“Huh?” Kobi said not even realizing that he was talking to him.

 

“Well, it’s just…” Ghira said, “... I think you spend more time reading, than Blake even when you were a child… You’ve always been working so hard to help me out with work.”

 

Kobi than replied to him awkwardly, “Oh! Well uh… I wouldn’t exactly say I’ve been… **_Catching up._ ** Let’s just say that I’ve been taking a break.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Ghira said. He took a glance over at Blake's outfit and Kobi’s, “Is it… Uh… Is it warm in Vale?” He asked Blake awkwardly.

 

“What?” Blake said, this time with her not realizing that she was being talked to.

 

“Well, I’m only asking since it doesn’t look like it covers much.” Ghira said.

 

“It covers plenty.” Blake said, putting her arms over her chest.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it pops.” Kobi said.

 

“I mean, a little armor might help, don’t you think?” Ghira said.

 

“Hey, since when did we even need armor?” The young teenage boy said.

 

“We can take care of ourselves.” Blake said.

 

“I…” Ghira said before letting out a sigh, “I know you both can.”

 

The three of them were silent again, but this time, the expression on both Blake and Kobi’s faces changed. “... Why…?” Blake said, “Why would you say that?”

 

“Blake…” Ghira said, “What’s wrong, what did I say?”

 

“You know what she means. How can you say that after… After what we said to you?” Kobi said, “After what we both said to you and mom?”

 

 “How can you still love us?” Blake said, “After all that’s happened, how can you still--”

 

Blake buried her head into hands, as she started to cry. Kobi had immediately went to comfort her, giving her a hug, but he couldn’t help but cry too. Soon enough, Ghira stood up and sat just opposite from Kobi and he put his arm around the both of them.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Ghira said to them gently, “You both know that your mother and I will always love you.”

 

“You were right!” Blake said emotional, “Kobi and I shouted at you! Yelled at you!”

 

“For God’s sake, we called you cowards!” Kobi said through his tears, “Hell, I called you weak! I told you were never my father! I told you that I hated you!”

 

“There, there.” Ghira said to them, “It’s okay.”

 

“You were right!” Blake said, “This whole time you were right! Kobi and I should’ve left with you and mom! We should’ve listened to you and I’m sorry!”

 

“We’re both so so sorry. Truly we are.” Kobi told him.

 

“Blake, Kobi, it’s alright.” He said, “We never held anything against you both, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path, and I am so proud to see that you both haven’t.”     

 

“You’re wrong about that dad.” Kobi said trying to wipe away his tears.

 

“What are you saying Kobi?” Ghira asked.

 

“... I…” Kobi said at one point slamming his fist into the coffee table, “... I didn’t see the path I had gone on, until… Until it was to late… I was too blind to see it, but… I just… I just... I was stupid, too blind to see what they’ve become!”

 

“Easy now son.” Ghira said, putting hand over his, “Just take deep breaths.”

 

“I was there…” Kobi said to him, taking Ghira by surprise, but only slightly, “I was there… When they invaded Beacon and Vale… I saw what happened, and I witnessed many of its people die right in front of me! And what’s worse, instead of helping them, I just stood there frozen! I couldn’t do anything too--”

 

At this point, Kobi had started to have a breakdown, as his face was filled with tears as he kept mumbling the words “I’m sorry” Finally after a while, Kobi looked to him, his eyes bloodshot red, “I’m so sorry dad, I didn’t mean to disappoint you! I should’ve fought them but--”

 

Ghira stopped him, in mid-sentence and motioned him to come and stand in front of him. Kobi stood and went to where he wanted him, though he was caught by surprise when he had pulled him in for a hug. “You could never disappoint me Kobi.” He said, “You’re our son and you’ll always will be. What’s been done in the past and unfortunately it can’t change, but what matters is what you can do now. We’ll be able to help you through this.”

 

Kobi didn’t say anything to this, but all he did was return the hug as he continued to cry. Blake soon spoke up, “Dad…” She said, “I… I fell down that path too. I’ve made awful mistakes, and I--”

 

“But you managed to pull yourself out.” Ghira said, as he gently pushed Kobi out of the hug after Kobi managed to calm down, “You came back. There aren’t many who possess that kind of strength and even fewer that have courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon--you confronted the White Fang time after time.”

 

“I didn’t do it alone.” Blake said.

 

Ghira said to his daughter, “No you didn’t. Which is why I wanted to ask you… Why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?”

 

“I--”

 

**SLAM!**

 

The three of them jumped suddenly when they heard a loud noise. They looked to the door and they saw Sun face plant on the floor with door broken. Sun let out a groan as he tried to stand himself up. “ **SUN!?** ” Blake exclaimed standing up.

 

“ **MONKEY BOY!?** ” Kobi yelled soon after, as he stood up as well.

 

Sun stood himself up and started to blush red out of embarrassment, “ **D’YUH WHOA!!** ” He yelled before saying as went to make his way out the door, “This isn’t the bathroom! I’ll just uh--I’ll just be goi-- **YIPE!** ” Sun fell on his back when he tripped over the door and fell on his back; he sat himself up as he laughed nervously.

 

“... I **_REALLY_ ** don’t like you.” Was all Ghira said to him.  

* * *

  _-_ ** _Atlas; Schnee Mansion_** -

 

A few days had passed since Weiss and Jacques had, the talk and she had spent most of her time in isolation, seeing as how she couldn’t go anywhere. Though she used this as an opportunity to work on her summoning. Van and Nilla, didn’t know exactly what had happened, since they noticed Weiss had spent more time in her room than usual. Not wanting them both to worry, Weiss had explained to Van and Nilla what had happened that night after the charity event, and they couldn’t believe what their father had decided. They couldn’t just believe the father decided to not make Weiss the Heiress to the family company. Even their own brother seemingly wanting to become the new heir to the Schnee Dust Company, they never liked the idea, they never even liked their own brother to begin with.

 

Their they sat in Weiss room, after she had explained everything to them. Both of them had genuinely shocked expressions on their faces.

 

“I can’t believe this!” Nilla said angrily, “Father can’t do this! After everything you’ve done to help our family!”

 

“No wonder brother was being strangely supportive since you returned home!” Van said, “It’s just unbelievable!”

 

“Let me ask you both something.” Weiss said; The twins tilted their head curiously at this, “... Do you like staying here…? In Atlas?”

 

There was an immediate reply from both of them, “No.”

 

Van added on, “The only reason we would stay here, is because of you and Klein.”

 

“Yeah.” Nilla said, “We would’ve left here ourselves after you went to Beacon, but… Than we wouldn’t be able to see you when you got home.”

 

Weiss cracked a small smile at this, “... That’s an answer that I wanted to hear. I knew I could always count on you both.”

 

“You can always rely on us Weiss!” Nilla said.

 

“We’ll be here for you no matter what.” Van said, “... So, what else did you wanna see us for?”

 

Weiss replied, “Well… I’m sure you both have been wondering what I’ve been doing in this room exactly.” The twins nodded their heads as they sat forward in their seat. Weiss soon said to them, “The truth is, I’ve been training, working on my summoning, and I think I’ve finally done it, and I’d like to show you both.”

 

The twins expressions brightened at this, and they bounced in their seats.

 

“Really?” Van said excitedly.

 

“We can watch?” Nilla said with the same enthusiasm as her sister.

 

Weiss nodded her head to them with a smile, “You both get a front row seat. Just stand over there , and give me some space alright?”

 

The twins nodded their heads, and stood up from their seats pushing the chairs away; going over to where Weiss told them to stand. Weiss picked up her Myrtenaster and got herself in her stance. Taking a deep breath, and with a twirl she thrusted her weapon into the ground. A summoning circle had appeared in the middle of the floor, and the twins couldn’t help but look at it with awe. Soon enough they saw a sword in the shade of blue, coming from the ground, and they recognized it to be the knight's sword from the painting hanging from Weiss’s wall. Soon enough--

 

“Hello sisters.” A voice said.

 

Weiss cringed and the summoning circle disappeared and the sword shattered, while Van and Nilla turned to the door. They saw Whitely, propped up against the door frame, having a smirk on his face.

 

“Whitely.” Van and Nilla both said giving him a look of anger on their faces.

 

Weiss let out a groan as she gave him the same look as her sisters did, “Leave.”

 

“How hurtful.” Whitely said to Weiss, “And here I am, about to offer you a favor. Father’s taking me to town to introduce me to some of his business partners. I’d thought I’d see if you want me to pick up something. Since you’re… **_Well, stuck here_ **.”

 

He than turned to his younger sisters, “You two are welcome to come into town, if you have nothing better to do that is.”

 

Both Van and Nilla shook their heads to him. “No thank you, we’d rather stay here with Weiss.” Van said to him.

 

“Unlike you, we’re actually loyal to our sister.” Nilla said to him.

 

All Whitely did was chuckle at this, “Very well, it’s your decision.”

 

“Tell me something Whitely…” Weiss said to him standing upright, “... **_Are you jealous_ **?”

 

“Whatever do you mean?” He asked.

 

“...Is that why you hate me? Are jealous of my abilities? **_Of Winters_ **?” She asked again.

 

Whitely pushed himself from the doorframe, and thought of answer. He soon replied, “No, not really. Honestly, I find it barbaric. It’s beneath people like me. **_Like Father_ **. What can a single Huntsman possibly do that an army cannot? That’s why we have one, even if it's runned by a fool.”

 

“You underestimate what a Huntsman can do brother.” Nilla said, “Huntsman, are incredible people, they don’t need the strength of an army behind them.”

 

Van had added, “And if Weiss wants to become a Huntress than so be it. What’s to stop her from trying?”

 

Weiss said to the two of them, “Thank you Van and Nilla, I’m really proud of you both.” Van and Nilla both smiled back at their sister. Weiss looked to Whitely before saying to him sternly, “Now I won’t ask you again. Leave. Now.” Whitely let out a sigh and waved his hand turning to walk away, “Fine, fine, I’ve got better things to do.” He said, before turning back, “What is your plan anyway? What do you hope to accomplish while trapped here in your own bedroom?”

 

A black circle glyph appeared on the door causing it to slam right on his surprised face. Van and Nilla couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at this after they saw a look in his face. “Okay, okay.” Weiss said to the two of them, “Let’s continue than before we were interrupted.”

 

The twins nodded and turned back to their sister; Weiss than went back into position as she thrusted her weapon into the ground once more. The summoning circle appeared again, and this time the ground beneath them had begun to shake, making Van and Nilla stumble slightly as the summoning circle spun fast. Everything in the room started to shake and the books fell off the shelves, until finally the window shattered with a burst forcing the three of them to cover their eyes. After a moment, the smoke cleared and they saw what had stood before them.  

 

The sound had echoed through the hall, getting the attention of two people in particular. This being Klein and Azure. The two of them made their way to their room. Azure first got the door open, “What happened!? I thought I heard a no--!” She stopped herself when she saw what was standing in the room now, her jaw dropped slightly.

 

Klein soon came after Azure, “Miss Schnee! Are you alright!?” He said before his eyes widened in shock and surprise. Weiss turned to the both of them and smiled, before she looked back to the summon before her. The suit of armor that had been the same thing that had been the same of the painting stood before them. It bowed to Weiss as any knight would.

 

“Yes.” Weiss replied to Klein after their was only silence.

 

“Weiss! This is amazing!” Van said going over to the knight looking at it closely.

 

“You did it!” Nilla said, taking the Knights hand; the Knight turned to Nilla and opened its hand to her; Nilla couldn’t help but jump onto the hand as she kicked her legs, “You actually did it Weiss! This so cool!”

 

Weiss smiled to both of her sisters, before looking to the bracelet faintly covered in soot around her wrist. Faintly in the back of her head, she heard a certain little girl tell Weiss, “This Knight is incredible! It’s just like from a fairytale! Wait until the others see this!” giving her a small smile on her face.

 

She turned to the window, feeling the breeze coming from the open window, “Klein… **_I need a favor_ **.”

* * *

 - ** _Menagerie_** -

 

Sun kept feeling a sudden burning sensation due to the slaps that he had been getting from Blake after his sudden interruption of the conversation between her, Kobi and Ghira.

 

“ **NO CONCEPT OF PRIVACY!** ” Blake yelled giving Sun another slap across the cheek, “ **NO RESPECT OF PERSONAL SPACE!** ”

 

“I’m sorry okay!?” Sun said rubbing both of his cheeks, “ **OW!** That really hurts.”

 

“What in the world were you thinking!?” Kobi said to Sun, “I don’t know if you noticed but we were in the middle of an important conversation with our own father!”

 

After Sun rubbed off the pain, he finally said to the two of them, “Look, I promise it was important! I just needed to find you guys! To talk to the both of you!”

 

“Oh really?” Kobi said.

 

“What could be **_SO_ ** important!?” Blake said.

 

Sun had explained to them, “I was talking to your mom, and she said something strange about the White Fang!”

 

“I’m going to stop you right there!” Blake said to him angrily.

 

“But--”

 

“My brother and I already told you before! We’re not here to fight the White Fang! We’re here to rest, to figure things out, and to see our family!”

 

“How can you even bring it up after what we said to you!?” Kobi said to Sun.

 

“Just listen to me for two seconds!” Sun said, “Your mother said, White Fang members in Menagerie **_don’t_ ** wear masks! But I saw one in the market yesterday!”

 

“Look that’s just--” Kobi started to say before stopping himself, “Wait… What? Mask, what do you mean mask?”

 

“Kobi don’t! We’re not going to get involved in this!” Blake said to her younger brother.

 

“Wait, just hold on a second sis, he might be onto something.” Kobi said stopping her before turning back Sun, “Monkey Boy, did you get a picture of this person?”

 

“Yeah, I did!” Sun said getting out his scroll, “Here I’ll show you!”

 

“Sun! We’re not going to through this with this!” Blake said. She grabbed his scroll from out of his hands and threw off of the balcony, catching her brother and Sun by surprise. Before anyone could say anything they heard a gasp from within the trees, making Blake and Kobi’s ears above their heads twitch. From within the trees they saw a dark humanoid figure hiding within the branches, wearing a mask as Sun as said. They could tell from where they stood that the person was a girl, and was fanus like them. She had on a sleeveless black stealth suit that had short pants with a golden zipper and lighter black-straps with golden buckles on it, and gray horns on her head; her shoulders had gray spots and she had on a pair of high-top boots. She quickly jumped out from the trees revealing that she had a ponytail that was curved at the end.

 

“A freaking ninja!?” Sun exclaimed.

 

Blake and Kobi turned to one another and said at the same time, “ **SPY!** ” With that, they both jumped from the balcony and started to follow the woman. “ **BLAKE! KOBI! WAIT A SECOND!** ” Sun yelled.

 

Kali soon came from around the corner, just seeing that her two children just jumped from the balcony and into the trees. “What’s going on?” Kali said, “Is everything alright?”

 

Sun turned to Kali and immediately replied, “The White Fang is evil! I totally called it, and I’m bringing your daughter and son back!” Just like that, he jumped from the balcony as to follow Blake and Kobi.

 

They hurried along with through the trees, trying to catch up with the White Fang spy. Everytime Blake or Kobi got close, she would just evade them. Finally after jumping from one tree to the next, they stopped for a moment; both Blake and Kobi couldn’t help but wonder why, the person before them looked so familiar to them, though they couldn’t seem to recall.

 

The Spy heard a tree branch snap, and looked up, only to find that Sun had leaped from one of the trees and was above her.

 

“ **GOTCHA!** ” Sun yelled.

 

The Spy quickly jumped from the tree she was on so that Sun would miss. He screamed as he fell into the branches; he managed to catch himself since he almost landed on the ground.

 

“So much for stealth Monkey Boy!” Kobi said to Sun jumping to the tree to help him up.

 

“Come on!” Blake yelled to the both of them, “We can’t lose her!”

 

She quickly followed after the Spy, and Kobi soon followed as well, jumping from one tree to the next after he helped out Sun. They followed through the trees until finally they had entered town of Menagerie, and the Spy, Blake and Kobi ran along the rooftops, though they saw that she had speed greater than them.

 

“ **BLAKE! BOOST ME!** ” Kobi yelled.

 

Blake nodded and ran right in front of Kobi, interlocking her fingers together. Kobi put his boot on her hands, and she threw him high in the air. Kobi armed his tomahawks and threw one of them towards the Spy’s feet, making her stop in her tracks, as Kobi himself landed in front of her.

 

“Got nowhere to run now.” Kobi said, picking up his tomahawk, and getting into his fighting stance.

 

The Spy soon turned to Blake after she finally stopped in her tracks, just in front of a pipe.

 

“Why are you watching us?” Blake said, arming herself.

 

The Spy didn’t reply, all she did was smile. Arming herself with her weapon which was a sword that had also been a whip, she used it to break the pipe that had been in front of her, causing steam to spew out from it, catching Blake by surprise when some of the steam went into her eyes suddenly.

 

“ **SIS!** ” Kobi exclaimed, before charging at the Spy armed with his tomahawks.

 

He went to attack the Spy, she evaded the attacks he made to her, and the blades clashed with each other when she went to attack him with her sword when he started to block. Kobi tried to kick at her, but it only gave her an opening as she flipped him, making him land on his back, with a groan. Just when she was going to attack him with her sword in hand, a rock was thrown to her head causing her to turn around, revealing that the one who threw it was none other than Sun.

 

“Give it up!” He said to her, “I’m not above hitting a girl you--”

 

Before Sun could finish the Spy used her whip to attack him; he quickly avoided it, by purposely falling back. Blake having recovered, jumped through the steam and used this distraction as an advantage. She ran up to the Spy and kicked a scroll out of her hands catching her by surprise. The Spy in returned, kicked her with equal force, and quickly went to retrieve her scroll before, getting tackled by Kobi and Sun; the impact on the ground caused part of her mask to crack, revealing half of her face and eye.

 

“Sorry! But not today!” Kobi said attempting to pin her.

 

“ **BLAKE!** ” Sun yelled, “ **GRAB THE SCROLL! SEEMS** **_SOMEONE_ ** **HERE THINKS IT’S IMPORTANT!** ”

 

“ **GET OFF OF ME!** ” The Spy yelled, as she managed to kick both Sun and Kobi off of her. She quickly stood up and she and Blake ran towards the scroll, in an attempt to make a grab for it. Sun had activated his semblance, and four clones tackled her and pinned her to the ground, restricting the Spy’s movements; Blake couldn’t help but stop in her tracks as she saw Kobi hold his gun to the Spy’s face.

 

“ **SIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?** ” Kobi yelled, “ **HURRY UP AND GRAB IT!** ”

 

Blake snapped out of it and nodded, and she ran to the scroll grabbing ahold of it. Sun having exhausted his energy, fell to his knees to catch his breath. Kobi was taken by surprise, when the Spy knocked the gun out of his hand, and she jumped behind him and disarmed his other tomahawk. She hooked an arm around his neck, making Kobi gag, and he grabbed a hold of her, struggling to get out of her grip.

 

“ **KOBI!** ” Blake and Sun yelled. They tried to rush her but she held her sword, dangerously close to Kobi’s face making them stop. Finally the mask broke apart revealing the spies face, Kobi’s eyes widened in shock while Blake looked surprised but only slightly.

 

“You?!” Kobi said choking his words, “But it can’t be!”

 

“Can’t be what?!” Sun said.

 

“ ** _Illia._ ** ” Blake said to the girl, leaving Sun shocked as he did a double take to her.

 

“Wait! You guys know her!?” Sun exclaimed, “But she doesn’t look like a Fanus!”

 

“Give me the scroll.” Illia said to Blake moving the blade closer to Kobi; her skin changed to red and her hair changed to yellow taking Sun by surprise, “I won’t hesitate to kill him.”

 

“Just let him go Illia!” Blake said, “No one has to die tonight!”

 

“You and your brother shouldn’t have come back here.” Illia said, “Give me the scroll. Now.”

 

“Don’t do it sis!” Kobi yelled to her, as he struggled to get out of her grip, despite choking himself in the process, “Don’t give it to her!”

 

Before Blake could do anything, Sun charged at the spy named Ilia as he yelled, “ **I GOT HER!** ” He kicked Ilia right in the face forcing her to let go of Kobi, he fell to his knees; Blake immediately ran over to her younger brother making sure he was alright as he caught his breath. Sun and Ilia exchanged fists before she kicked him back a few feet. With her sword now a whip, she swung her blade and it hit Sun right in the shoulder; he cried out in agony, making him fall backwards, passing out.

 

“ **SUN!** ” Blake and even Kobi yelled when they saw this happen.

 

“I won’t ask again.” Ilia said holding her sword to Blake, “Give it to me.”

 

Blake held the scroll close to her as she gave a glare to her, “No!” She said, “I won’t!”

 

Ilia looked to them, this time her skin changed to a green color with her hair turning blue. “ ** _._** ** _.. You both shouldn’t have come back…_ ** ” She repeated. With a swing of her sword, she created a cloud of dust, which forced Blake and Kobi to squeeze their eyes shut. When the dust cleared they saw that Ilia was gone before their very eyes.

 

“ **SUN!** ” Blake exclaimed as she ran to him, “ **SUN!** ”

 

“Oh my God!” Kobi yelled all panicky running to him to, “Oh my God! Monkey Boy! Sun!”  

 

Blake kneeled by Sun’s side, and placed her hands over the wound on his shoulder; Blake started to cry, “No! No, no, no, no, not again!” Blake said, “Please not again!”

 

“H--He’s not dead is he!?” Kobi said scared, “He’s okay, right!?”

 

“Kobi!” Blake said to her brother, “Listen to me, you have to go and get help! And you need to hurry!”

 

“But what about you!?”

 

“Just hurry Kobi please! Go and find help!”

 

Kobi tried to say something, but stopped himself and he hesitantly nodded his head. He than stood up and ran along the rooftops, doing as Blake told him. Sun let out a groan and her attention was drawn back to him. She sniffled through her tears and put her forehead against his, as she pressed against the wound.

 

“Hold on Sun… Just hold on…”

* * *

 - ** _Patch; Later that Night_** -

 

Yang sat alone on the front porch of her house as she looked at the night sky with her new arm and Zwei, and even holding onto the corgi plush on her lap. She looked up at the stars, and the shattered moon above, while drinking a cup of coffee. She looked to her arm still not even believing of how light as a feather it was. She couldn’t wait for her sister to see the way she had improved over the course of the last few weeks. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Destiny’s face when she saw how she--

 

Yang’s eyes saddened at the thought of Destiny as she looked to the small plush that sat on her lap. She still had no idea where Destiny could be; true, she was thankful that she was still alive, but she had no idea where she could be, or if she was even taken. She had no way of knowing for sure, all she had was hope and pray that wherever she was she was safe and out of harm's way.She soon heard the front door open and someone step outside before taking a seat by her on the steps; of course it had turned to be Angel.  

 

“Yo.” Yang said.

 

“Evening.” Angel said as he went to pet Zwei, “Hope you don’t mind me here.”

 

“No. I don’t.” Yang said, looking to the sky again.

 

“You did pretty good today. I’m impressed.” The young dragon fanus said, “In all my life I’ve never seen someone fight like you. I’m amazed really.”

 

“You sure you don’t say that to all the people you fight?” Yang asked with a quizzical look.

 

“Nope, not all of them.” Angel said, “I’m serious, I’ve been all across Remnant and the four kingdoms, and I’ve never seen someone actually knock me off my feet, literally and--”

 

“Are you not just saying that because I kicked your ass today?”

 

“Whoa, hold on I wasn’t done, I was going to say to be fair I was rusty and like I told Tai, I’ve never actually thought about reviewing some of my moves that I learned from my dad.”

 

“Excuses.”

 

Both Angel and Yang laughed at this as Zwei let out a couple of barks. Angel soon noticed that little corgi plush that he saw, from the first few days with Yang. He decided to make conversation with her about it. “That little plush…” Angel said to her, “It’s the same one you had when I first started talking to you.”

 

“Yeah…” Yang said, “I guess your right.”

 

Angel soon asked hesitantly, “That corgi… It was gift from Destiny, wasn’t it?”

 

Yang let out a sigh as she nodded, she took a sip from her coffee.

 

Angel let out a sigh as well, “I’ll admit. It was… Awkward for me to have meet her as, well a Grimm I guess; but she sounded desperate, when she asked me to deliver you her message. There was on way I could turn down a little one like her. If you don’t mind me asking, what was she like?”

 

Yang chuckled at this, “Where do I start with her? She was a sweet little girl, not having a care in the world. She was funny, and did everything she could to cheer me, and my sister and my friends up whenever one of us had a bad day. Let me tell you she had a huge appetite, especially when it came to desert. She loved stories and fairytales, especially the Seasons story, and she was brave too…” Yang chuckled a little again, “I guess you can say she was like a little sister to all of us.”

 

Yang soon showed her, the bracelet to Angel, “She made me and my team this. She called it the Victory Bracelet. I never took it off ever since the day she gave it to me. Now knowing she’s alive and out there in Remnant somewhere, makes me happy and worried.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“Because she’s like you said she is. I know I said she’s brave, but… She’s still a little girl. She could be all alone, and scared wherever she is. Who knows if she was taken, or even if she had gotten lost somewhere during the chaos of what happened. It scares me to think that something bad might’ve happened to her, or worse. Though I’m also happy knowing that she is alive trying find the others and even her dad. All this time these past months, I kept going through my head that she might’ve been killed, that she didn’t make it out, that it could’ve been possible. But after hearing what you said, when you gave me her message… I’m just thankful that she’s okay.”

 

“Well, for what it’s worth… I hope she’s okay too, wherever she is.”

 

Yang smiled to Angel at this before giving him an affectionate punch on the arm and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, Angel.” Yang said, “You know a little bit about myself and my little friend, so I think it’s time I know something about you.”

 

“Really? Like what?” Angel asked.

 

“Like more about your travels, and maybe a little something about your family.” Yang said, “I think it’s fair considering that you know about my mom and my family.”

 

Angel took a deep breath and soon replied, “Okay. What’s fair is fair.”

 

“Well go on. I’m listening.” Yang said to him.

 

Angel soon started to tell his story, “Well… I guess it starts with me and my dad. I never had the pleasure of knowing my mother or my sister, since my parents split up when we were kids. Like I said before, I did a lot of traveling with him, we never stayed in one place. He taught me how to fight and even showed me how to fly since I came with wings. Sometimes we would stop in towns and villages and stay their for a few days, before we started to move again. As a kid he told me stories, and as I grew older he told me secrets. Than one day… We encountered a bandit tribe, and he told me to run and not look back. That was the last time I saw him.”

 

Yang’s eyes widened slightly at this, “You mean he was…”

 

All Angel did was nod his head in reply and her eyes softened at this.

 

“From there I learned to survive on my own, and help out whoever I could. But than I saw what happened on the news about Beacon. So I decided to find Ozpin and… Someone else I know.”

 

“Your sister?” Yang asked.

 

Angel nodded again, “I know I never meet her, but I knew that she attended Beacon during the Vytal Festival. I want to find her to get some answers from her.”

“Answers? What do you mean?”

 

“This… Is going to be hard to believe, but… My sister was, unfortunately, one of the people responsible for the Fall of Beacon. All because she’s fighting for a cause that only the craziest kind of people would believe in.”

 

Yang’s eyes widened slightly at this, but chose not to say anything, “... What… What was it that you wanted to ask her?” She asked.

 

Angel had replied, “Just why? Why she would just go forward with it, and get people to lose trust in one another, all on purpose? Was there even a reason to all of this?” Yang patted him on the shoulder as a way to comfort him, and Zwei rested his head on Angels leg, as Yang could tell it was hard for Angel to say all of these things. Finally after a moment of silence between them, Angel had asked, “Hey Yang? Can I show you something?”

 

Yang looked at him puzzled, but had soon replied, “... Okay, what?”

 

“Well, I told my father would never reveal my eyes to anyone but… These past few weeks I’ve been staying here, I’m willing to trust you with this. Just promise me you won’t tell anyone about it.”

 

“Of course.” Yang said, before looking even more puzzled, “Wait… Eyes?”

 

Angel turned away from her for a moment, and reached for his eyes. In a second later, Yang saw that in the palm of his hand he was holding golden color contacts. Angel than turned back around and moved his hair covering one of his eyes, and Yang’s eyes widened slightly at what she saw.

 

“ **_... You have the same eyes as Ruby…_ ** ” Was the only thing Yang said.

* * *

 

- **_Three Years Ago; Vale Late At Night_ ** -

 

_Roman had decided instead of eating whatever leftover was in the fridge, or takeout himself and Destiny had decided to go out to eat. Of course Destiny had decided on where they were going to eat. They decided to have their dinner at dinner just near the downtown area. Though the diner was small, it felt like they were feasting like royalty, and they couldn’t be happier, Destiny especially._

 

_After they had dinner they had started make their way back home. With Roman wearing a casual outfit with his hair uncurled and Destiny wore her eyepatch and a simple purple jacket over her bear t-shirt and she had on a pair of blue baggy jeans with red sneakers, with the bag on her back and an IV tube still connected to her chest._

 

_She happily held her father's hand as they went down the sidewalk , with an ice cream cone in her hand in her favorite flavor which was strawberry._

 

_“Looks someone had a good time tonight.” Roman said to his daughter, laughing slightly at the way she looked._

 

_“Thanks for tonight dad.” Destiny said with a smile as she finished up her ice cream, “I really like that diner!”_

 

_“Come here you rascal.” Roman said kneeling down to Destiny’s level, while taking out a napkin; he started to wipe her face, “You got ice cream all over you little dumb bell.”_

 

_“Dad!” Destiny said as she giggled a little._

 

_Roman gave her an affectionate pinch on the cheek, and she giggled some more. “Hey dad, can we watch a movie tonight when we get back home?”_

 

_“I don’t know, it has to depend on the movie.” He replied, “What do you wanna watch?”_

 

_Destiny thought about her answer, but before she could reply, three men suddenly approached them, all of them holding weapons; blades to be exact. “Empty your pockets. Hand over everything you got.” One of the men said before threatening, “Or this goes through you.”_

 

_Destiny’s eyes widened in horror as she started to cling to her dad, her whole body started to shake; Roman moved Destiny behind him as he looked to the three of men before him._

 

_“Didn’t you hear him!?” One of the men yelled scaring Destiny, “Hand over your cash!”_

 

_“Look, we’re not looking for any trouble.” Roman said to them calmly, “All we want to do is go back home.”_

 

_“We don’t care what you want!” The third man yelled, “Hand over your cash! Now!”_

 

_“Daddy…” Destiny said with a shaky voice, “... I’m scared…”_

 

_“Just stay back where it’s safe Princess.” Roman said to her with a calm voice, “I’ll take care of this.” Destiny nodded nervously and stepped back as he told her to do._

 

_“You must be stupid if you think you can take us on!” One of them said._

 

_“Who do you think you are!?” The other said._

 

_“Why don’t you come at me and find out?” Roman said to them._

 

_The three men looked at one another, before one of them charged at Roman. He tried to go and stab him right in the face, but he had quickly evaded him and disarmed him of his knife, and pinned him to the ground twisting his arm. The second tried going after Roman with his blade in hand, but he retaliated by throwing the man he pinned towards him, causing him to fall on his back and cry out in agony. The third and last man charged at him, catching Roman by surprise when he felt the knife pierce his cheek giving him a small cut. Before he could land a second cut on him, Roman had quickly deflected with the knife that he had taken from one of the attackers earlier._

 

_They had both exchanged blades with one another, both of them trying to land hits on each other. It wasn’t long until Roman finally made him trip slightly and Roman landed a punch on him knocking him to the ground. Roman caught his breath and turned to his daughter who had been hiding behind a trashcan._

 

_“It’s okay now.” Roman said to her, “It’s safe.”_

 

_Destiny was about to come out but--_

 

 _“_ **_DADDY! BEHIND YOU!_ ** _” She suddenly yelled._

 

_Just as he turned around he was suddenly knocked to the floor when he felt something hard hit him from behind knocking him to the floor. “Your gonna pay for messing with us old man!” He said before turning to his two comrades, “Bring the pain boy's!” Thus the two men after getting back up on their feet , started to kick at Roman as he started to cry out in agony, hitting him hard, as Destiny stood there helpless to do anything._

 

 _“_ **_DADDY!_ ** _” Destiny shouted, before yelling to the attackers, “_ **_PLEASE STOP HURTING HIM!_ ** _”_

 

_The two men lifted Roman off the ground, and the head of them started to punch him, making him cough out blood. “You should’ve done what you were told old man. Now you’re gonna pay up with your life.” The man said grabbing a hold of his hair before punching him in the face._

 

 _“_ **_HE’S DEFENSELESS!_ ** _” Destiny yelled to the men as she tried to get the man to stop attacking him, “_ **_STOP IT! PLEASE!_ ** _”_

 

_“You stay out of this brat!” The man said shoving Destiny off making her fall to the ground on the hard concrete of the sidewalk._

 

_That struck a nerve on Roman, and he managed to shake the two men off of him as he charged at the head of them. He punched him across the face and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the light pole that was nearby._

 

 _“Hurt my daughter again, and I_ **_WILL_ ** _put an end to your life!” Roman said to the man with a glare._

 

_The man once again caught him by surprise, he pushed Roman off of him. He threw a punch at Roman but he evaded it and returned it with equal force making him stumble; they both exchanged fists now and again trying to hit one another, until Roman finally caught him, making him fall over but he held his balance. He grabbed broken piece of wood nearby and hit Roman across the face with it making him fall to the floor again, making Destiny flinch. Roman attempted to get up, but he was hit back to the ground._

 

_“Once your out of the way, we can take your kid their as payment for all your rudeness!” The man said with a sickening grin._

 

_“Leave my daughter out this!” Roman yelled to him before he was hit to the ground again._

 

 _“_ **_DON’T DO THIS PLEASE!_ ** _” Destiny yelled, “_ **_JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_DIDN’T HE TELL YOU TO SHUT UP BRAT!?_ ** _” His comrade yelled in a threatening tone of voice._

 

_“Say bye bye to your kid old man.” The leader said, “Because it’s the last time your going to see her.”_

 

_“I told you to leave her out of this!” Roman said with a glare, “If you don’t I’ll--”_

 

_“You’ll what!? Bleed on me!?” The man said, “What the hell are you going to do about it!?”_

 

_The two men pinned him to the ground, and the man held his knife in his hand. He lifted the blade high into the air and prepared to swing it at him, and Roman’s eyes widened in horror at this. He couldn’t die here! He just couldn’t! If he did, Destiny would be all alone without a parent figure to take care of her. He didn’t want her to go through with that, he just couldn’t put her through it! The man took a swing with his blade, and Roman squeezed his eyes shut hoping that this was a nightmare but--_

 

 _“_ **_STOP HURTING MY DAD!!!_ ** _”_

 

_Destiny lifted both of her hands in the air suddenly and, white and blue lines appeared on her hands and arms. Waves of energy appeared from her hands directing them towards the men, but the ground cracked underneath where she stood; the waves of energy bent a light pole backwards and the walls on a couple of buildings cracked. Even a fire hydrant nearby exploded with water suddenly due to the waves of energy. The men excluding Roman, flew back several feet landing on couple of cars nearby setting off in an alarm._

 

_Roman looked to Destiny and saw the white and blue lines on her arms; not only that the lines on her arms and hands connected back to her face, and towards her right eye that had already changed to a pure white color; white and blue lines had also connected to underneath her eyepatch to her left eye. Roman saw on her forehead that she had an insignia of a butterfly that was in the color of blue. Destiny eye had widened slightly at what she saw herself do, and she looked at her hands seeing the lines along her arms and hands. The lines had slowly started to fade and her eye changed back to green when she blinked._

 

 _The three man stood up, fearfully, nearly tripping on themselves. “ **WHAT THE HELL!?** ” The leader yelled terrified by what had happened, “ _ **_M-MONSTER! SHE’S A FREAKING MONSTER!_ ** _” The men quickly ran down the road with their tails between their legs down the road, not even caring that they tripped over various trash cans and they disappeared in the darkness._

 

_Roman had ignored the three men that just attacked them and went to approach his daughter._

 

_“Destiny…” He said to her gently, as he approached her; he saw how scared she was from her expression, “Destiny, it’s okay…”_

 

_“What was--!?” Destiny said fearfully, seeing the lines disappear from her body completely, “What was that!? Daddy! What did I do!? What did I… Do…?”_

 

_Destiny felt the energy leave her body suddenly and she started to stumble. Roman quickly rushed over to her when he saw her fall and he caught her before she could hit the concrete floor. He sighed with relief when he saw that she wasn’t hurt, and he saw the silhouette of the butterfly disappear from her forehead completely. Roman took deep breaths, trying to gather his thoughts on what had just happened and what could’ve happened; he held her close to him, as he listened to her soft breathing._

 

_“... I’m so sorry Princess…” He whispered to Destiny, kissing her on the cheek, “... I’m so sorry I had to put you through that… I’m so sorry...”_

 

_He soon heard sirens in the distance, and he mentally cursed himself. He picked Destiny up off the ground and quickly ran down the block, before the police arrived on the scene, making sure that no one was following behind him._

 

 _(_ **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For The Rain TV Sized Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	14. Separate Ways

( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_** )

 

The whole group didn’t know how long they were walking, it had felt like years to them as they continued along the dirt path. They tried to hurry along as fast as they could, as they carried two of their comrades that had been gravely wounded; this being Cristal and Qrow. They had discovered that morning that Qrow was indeed poisoned by Tyrian but the reason why they didn’t know about because Qrow had a slower reaction than Roman did when he was poisoned. Without enough materials to make another antidote for him, their only hope was to get him to the next town.

 

While Cristal was being carried on Ren’s back, Ruby and Jaune carried Qrow on a makeshift stretcher. To make matters worse, the map they were carrying had been damaged during the fight against Elise. The only thing they could do was walk along the first path they found and have hope for not just themselves, but for their comrades.

 

The rest that were still standing had their weapons ready, and their guard up in case they had encountered any enemies. Melody walked beside her father, and Scout was on the opposite side of Qrow, while Frosty hung out in Ruby’s cloak hood, since Melody had to get rid of her hoodie, when they realized it had poison on it. Senka walked alongside Ren, so that he could protect Cristal just in case while on his back he carried her weapons, Qrow’s weapon, and Melody’s. Nora, and Rosario lagged behind in case any enemies would try to sneak up on them from behind.

 

Roman walked in the middle of the group along side Neo; he was using his own cane as leverage to walk, since despite the poison being out of his system, he still felt pain in his wound on his side. His white cape coat had been removed and was on Cristal since he knew she needed it more than he did. They had already explained to Roman, what Qrow had told them last night, and despite him having so many questions on the manner, he decided to put them aside since they had a bigger issue to deal with.

 

“Come on dad…” Melody said gripping his hand as she walked by his side, “You gotta hang on… Just a little longer…”

 

“Hold on Uncle Qrow.” Ruby soon said turning her head to look to him, “Just hold on…”

 

Qrow let out a couple of coughs, as he started to mumble words that were incoherent. Most of the words became clear as he said aloud, “Tai… She’s not coming back… Tai…”

 

Scout placed her hand on his forehead, and felt that it was hot to the touch, “It’s no good, he’s getting worse.”

 

“Hey Ren!” Jaune called out; Ren’s head turned slightly to him, “How’s Cristal?!”

 

Ren looked to Cristal, who was breathing hoarsely, and just like Qrow, she was talking in her sleep as well. “... Destiny…” She said groaning, “... Not her… Please… Please don’t take her that place… I’m begging you...”

 

“She’s not getting any better.” Ren said to him.

 

“Damn it! We’ve been walking since this morning!” Rosario said, “We have to be getting close to a town or a village by now!”

 

“We just gotta be!” Nora said.

 

“With the map damaged there's no way of knowing for sure.” Roman said to them.

 

“Well have to walk into walk into something eventually.” Neo said.

 

Finally Ren was the first to stop in his tracks, and the group stopped as well. Adjusting his hold on Cristal he ran up ahead of them. “Ren what is it!?” Ruby called out. “What do you see!?” Melody called out after. Ahead of them was a fork in the road, and Ren stopped in front of a total of four signs, one pointing back down the path where they came from which was to Higanbana. The other two signs on the right, read Mistral and Kuchinashi, while sign on the left, read Kuroyuri which had an X over it.

 

Nora soon saw the signs and her expression brightened.

 

“Hey! Hey! Mistral!” Nora said running to where Ren was and pointing to it, “You guys, we’re on the right path!” Her expression soon fell, when she the signs only had the names of the places but not the distance between them and there. Rosario, Roman, and Neo soon ran up to the signs too, and read what was on them.

 

“Does it say how close!?” Ruby said.

 

“No.” Rosario said, “It just says the names!”

 

Roman looked to the path on the right and saw the mountains in the distance, “From the looks of it up ahead, it might take us into the mountains!”

 

Ruby and Jaune set down the stretcher, and Melody kneeled beside him, still hanging onto his hand. “Guys…” Jaune said looking to Qrow and Cristal, “I don’t think all of us here can make that climb.”

 

“Well Senka’s a Griffon right?!” Melody said, “He has wings, can’t he just fly my dad and Cristal up there?!”

 

“Senka will only listen to Cristal, and with her out of commission…” Scout said turning to Senka, whom they saw was nuzzling Cristal’s head with his beak gently and made a worried noise, “... He won’t listen to any of us…”

 

Ruby looked to her uncle who still let out raspy coughs, and than Cristal who was still on Ren’s back whom she saw was still in pain. She clenched her fist and ran to the signs, quickly reading through them; Jaune followed behind her, while Melody and Scout stayed with Qrow. “Okay, okay!” Ruby said before pointing to the left, “What about here!?”

 

They all looked to the sign, that had an X over its name.

 

“Kuro--” Ruby said trying to pronounce it, “Kuroyuri! Can we get help there!?”

 

“Red…” Roman said to her, “I guarantee you no one is going to be there.”

 

“He’s right…” Ren said before adding, “That village was destroyed years ago…”

 

“But it may not be a bad idea.” Rosario said, “From the looks of it, it might take us around the mountains.”

 

“If that’s the case, it’s the best chance we’ve got!” Jaune said.

 

“It will take too long.” Ren said to them sternly.

 

“The town would’ve had a doctor right?” Ruby said, “We could maybe scavenge some medicine; find the materials Scout needs to make another antidote, maybe antibiotics for Cristal!”

 

“Assuming that it’s still there to begin with.” Neo said.

 

“We won’t find anything there!” Ren said before shouting, “ **WE JUST HAVE TO PRESS ON!** ”

 

Everyone stood silent by Ren’s sudden outburst, and all that was heard was the wind blowing the leafs across the ground gently. They looked to Ren both shocked and worried about him. “Ren?” Jaune said, “Why are you acting so--”

 

“We can split up.” Nora said cutting him off.

 

“What?” Ruby and Jaune both said at the same time.

 

“Half of us that are able to climb can cut through the mountains.” Nora said, “While the rest of us, can take Cristal and Qrow through the village.”

 

Scout had soon joined the group having heard what Nora was suggesting, “You want us to split up?” Scout asked.

 

“No! We can’t!” Jaune said, “We’re supposed to stick together, to keep each other safe!”

 

“We don’t have time for safe!” Nora said to him, “If we’re able to make it to Mistral we’ll bring back help! If we don’t, at least we’ll have a better view of the land! Up there we can if there’s somewhere else we can go!” Ren turned to Nora, and they both gave one another an affectionate smile. Everyone, not including Roman and Neo had an unsure look, until they glanced over to Cristal, and than Qrow after they heard him let out coughs. They turned back to each other, and though they didn’t like the idea, they had no other choice.

 

“Okay.” Jaune said, “Ruby and I will go through the village with Cristal and Qrow.”

 

“Me and Ren can cut through the mountains.” Nora said.

 

“And that just leaves everyone else.” Ren said.

 

“I’ll go with you guys.” Rosario said turning to Ren and Nora, “I’ve been through the mountains before on one of my jobs, so I know the terrain better than anyone here. I’ll get you through there.”

 

“What about your leg?” Ruby asked, “I thought it was damaged from the fight.”

 

“Don’t worry.” Rosario said with a reassured smile, “It’s nothing too serious. I’ll be fine. Besides, this isn’t going to be my first time climbing up a mountain with a damaged leg.”

 

Rosario than turned to Scout, “Kid, I think it’s best if you stay with Ruby and Jaune. Your of more help to Qrow and Cristal than you are to us.”

 

Scout was hesitant at this, as her ears went down, “But… There’s nothing I can do to help them… I don’t have the medicine too…”

 

“Don’t always rely on medicine kid.” Rosario said putting her hands on both her shoulders, “You’ll improvise when the time comes. I believe in you.”

 

Scout looked to the ground, still unsure on what she should do as she played with her ribbon. Finally she looked up to Rosario and nodded; Rosario smiled at this. “I’ll go talk to Melody.” Rosario said to the group, before going over to where she was. Finally Roman spoke up, “Neo and I will accompany Ren and Nora through the mountain terrain.”

 

Ruby and Jaune looked to to him shocked, “Are… Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jaune asked, “You’re hurt too.”

 

“This wound is nothing Arky.” Roman said patting his side gently, “Believe or not, I’ve dealt with worse wounds than this. I’ll be able to climb easy.”

 

“I’ll be able to help him.” Neo said, “If he’s wound does open, I’ll know how patch it back up.”

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Ruby asked him.

 

“I’m sure Red.” He said, “I’m a grown man, I can handle myself.”

 

Rosario approached Melody who was still by her father’s side, and holding onto his hand refusing to let it go. She kneeled by her side, putting her hand on her shoulder; Melody flinched slightly, before realizing it was Rosario. “It’s just you.” Melody said softly.

 

“How are you holding up?” Rosario asked.

 

“...My only parent, who ever gave a damn about me in my life, has been poisoned… And he could be dying…” Melody said, “I honestly don’t know how I’m doing.”

 

“I see…” Rosario said.

 

“So what did the group decide…? What are we going to do?” She said.

 

“We decided it’s best to split up for now.” Rosario said, “Your dad, and Cristal are going to go through the village with Ruby, Jaune and Scout, while the rest of us go through the mountain. I’ll be going with Ren and Nora, and, this is just me suggesting, but, given your connection between you and your dad I think it would be best if you go with us, so that way it could--.”

 

“... I can’t.” Melody said cutting her off, “I’m sorry but I can’t.”

 

“Melody. It’s not a good idea too--”

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

Rosario was a bit taken back by this, but soon nodded her head. “You said to us… That you have a brother and you left him, even though you didn’t want to. Did you ever regret leaving him?”

 

“Everyday of my life I do.” Rosario replied.

 

“I’ve been, away from home for so long. Not just because I’m looking for my cousin's mother, but because I’m afraid of something I can’t control and I’m scared that I might hurt the people I love.” Melody said to her, “But… They’re some days when I regret leaving home, not even so much as telling my uncle or my dad goodbye in person. The day I left, all I did was leave them a letter telling them I was going and that was it. Now knowing this may be the last time I actually see my father, the last night I talked him, terrifies me. I can’t bare to go through with it, knowing if I go away from him that it may be the last time I ever got to see him, so I can’t go with you.”

 

Rosario said to her after letting out a sigh, “I don’t really understand the father daughter relationship, since the man I’ve lived with most of my life was never a father to me or my brother, but… If you think it’s the best thing for you to do. Than I won’t stop you or convince you otherwise. You just make sure you take care of him, and your cousin.”

 

Melody turned to Rosario and nodded her head, before they both exchanged in a hug.

 

After moments, everyone had gotten ready to go with their own group, Cristal now being on Jaunes back, and Scout and Ruby were going to carry the stretcher Qrow was on. “Well Red.” Roman said, “From the looks of things we may not be seeing each other for a while.”

 

“I just can’t believe this is happening.” Ruby said.

 

“We’ll do what we always do and survive.” Roman said, “But just in case… I want you to take this.”

 

Ruby wondered what he meant, but saw him rummage through his pockets; he pulled out from his pocket, his own lighter.

 

“Your lighter?” Ruby said, “But… I don’t smoke.”

 

Roman chuckled slightly, “It’s not just used for smoking Red. It was actually from Destiny, she used her money to buy it when her and Neo were having a girls day out. In way I guess it always brought me good luck; even when I wasn’t smoking on the job I always carried it with me. I want you to hold onto this for me, until you see me again.”

 

“But why?”

 

“Just to show, that we’ll see each other no matter what comes our way. Make sure you don’t lose it and take care of it with your life, like I would.”

 

Ruby nodded her head and smiled slightly and reached for the lighter in his hand, but Roman suddenly froze up when she suddenly hugged him. With hesitation he returned the hug and patted her on the back. “Stay safe.” Ruby said.

 

“Always.” Roman replied.

 

“Roman.” Neo said, “It’s time to go.”

 

Roman nodded to Neo, and they both broke out of the hug, Ruby taking his lighter with her; she placed it in her dress pocket. Ruby got to the front of the stretcher, and Scout got behind. Jaune adjusted his hold on Cristal, and turned to Ren, Nora, Neo and Rosario. “Take care of each other.” Jaune said.

 

“Don’t worry.” Nora said with a reassured smile, putting her hand Ren’s shoulder, “We’ve always have.”

 

“We’ll be okay.” Neo said to him, “Don’t worry about us.”

 

Rosario said to Jaune, “Just take care of my partner and team blondie. Don’t make me hunt you down.”

 

Jaune nodded to Rosario, and smiled a small smile, finally the now two groups went on the paths opposite of each other. With one last glance to each other, they all went down the separate paths they had chosen, with Ruby, Jaune, Melody, Scout, and Senka following behind them, taking Cristal and Qrow to the village, while Roman, Neo, Nora, Ren and Rosario went towards the mountains.

 

“... I hope they’ll be alright.” Scout said worriedly.

 

“They will be.” Ruby said with a reassured smile, “Trust me, they’re going to be fine.”

 

“You don’t know that.” Jaune said softly.

 

The whole group stayed silent at this point as they pressed onward. But all of them were unaware that they had stepped over a symbol of some kind as they continued towards the village.

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For The Rain TV Sized Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )

 


	15. The Scion

- ** _Sometime_** **_Ago; Late at Night_** -

 

_ A storm had brewed just above the two teams heads, and it had begun to rain like cats and dogs in a matter of seconds. They all rain down the now muddy path ahead and they had their arms over their head in an attempt. It didn’t exactly help that there was nothing but darkness for miles and no sign of a town. They couldn’t even get out the map, since they didn’t want it to get any damage. They all ran with great speed as they tried to avoid the rain; All of them were pretty much soaked  _

 

_ “This rain is coming down hard!” Nora said to the group.  _

 

_ “We’ve gotta find shelter soon!” Jaune said, "We have to be close to a town or a village!"  _

 

_ “There’s no way of knowing for sure, not without the map!” Rosario said.  _

 

_ “We have to find something fast!” Ruby said.  _

 

_ Scout tripped on a rock, she fell flat on the floor face first, making everyone stop in their tracks. “Scout!” Melody exclaimed, running to her; she and Ren helped her up off the floor, revealing her face was covered with mud and her face had been bruised slightly. She coughed a bit. “Are you okay?” Ren asked.  _

 

_ “I think so.” Scout said coughing slightly, as she slowly stood up with their help, “Ow my face. I can’t see anything with all this mud.”  _

 

_ It wasn’t until Neo spotted a house in the distance, when lighting roared through the sky. “There!” Neo said pointing in the direction, “There’s a house up ahead!” The group turned to where Neo was pointing and saw the house in the distance as well. “We can take shelter there!” Ruby said, “Come on guys!”  _

 

_ The group started to run in the direction of the house; Melody had taken Scout’s hand and ran with the group leading her. They managed to reach the house and go on the front porch; thankfully the front porch had a balcony just over them, so they had some kind of protection from the rain. They all took a moment to catch their breath after hours of running after the rain started.  _

 

_ “Oh my gosh!” Nora said, “That was crazy!”  _

 

_ “At least the very least we’re out of the rain now.” Roman said removing his now soaked bowler hat.  _

 

_ “Yeah…” Cristal before gesturing to everyone’s outfits, “But we’re still soaked.”  _

 

_ “... Let’s see if anyone’s home.” Ren said, “We can all dry off in there.”  _

 

_ “Right, good idea.” Ruby said, before standing up straight.  _

 

_ Ruby went to the front door, and gave a knock. “Hello?” She called out, “Excuse me, is anyone home?”  _

 

_ They didn’t hear anyone on the other side; all that was heard was the sound of the rain. Ruby knocked again before calling out, “Um, I’m sorry to bother you, but, my friends and I just want to stay for the night to avoid the rain. I promise we’ll be gone by morning.”  _

 

_ They still didn’t hear anyone from the other side of the door, the sound of the rain was all that filled the silence. Ruby turned to the group and shrugged, “It doesn’t look like anyones home.”  _

 

_ “They could be out for a walk.” Jaune said, “But than again who would want to walk in a storm like this?”  _

 

_ They heard Scout let out a sneeze and sniffle a bit. “We should really get inside, before one of us catches a cold.” Cristal said, “I’m sure whoever owns this house won’t mind.”  _

 

_ Ruby nodded in agreement before grasping the doorknob and turning it, although she soon quick to realize that the door was locked. Roman soon took notice of this, “Hang on Red I’ve got it.” Roman said, as Ruby moved over. He than shoulder charged the door, breaking the door’s lock. After Cristal instructed Senka to wait outside, the whole group stepped inside the house; they were first met with darkness.  _

 

_ “It’s pitch black in here.” Melody said, “I can’t see a thing.”  _

 

_ “Let’s use our scrolls as a flashlight!” Nora said.  _

 

_ “We gotta conserve our Scroll’s energy, remember?” Ren said to Nora.  _

 

_ Roman soon rummaged through his coat pocket and took out his light. With a couple of snaps, a small flame appeared. “Ladies and gentlemen.” He said, getting to the front of the group, “If I may lead?”  _

 

_ The group started to follow behind Roman; Neo merely chuckled and said before following behind them, “Show off.” _

 

_ They started to explore the houses living room. From Roman’s lighter, they saw a few papers and books scattered on the floor, and they caught whiff of a very strong yet cringing aroma. Though they couldn’t tell where it was from exactly. Finally they moved into the kitchen, where they heard water drip from the faucet.  _

 

_ “Hey Roman?” Cristal said before pointing to the right of the room, “Turn your light over there.”   _

 

_ Roman nodded and turned his light over to the right. There they saw a generator of some kind. “Looks like that’s what powers the house.” Ren said.  _

 

_ Cristal went over to the generator, to take a closer look at it. She saw the insignia that was on the generator. “It’s dust powered.” Cristal said, “It might even still work. From the looks of it, it just needs two vials to get it working.” _

 

_ “This machine looks old though.” Neo said, “Are you sure it’ll work?”    _

 

_ “Only one way to find out.” Ruby said before taking out some of her Dust that she had been carrying for her bullets. She handed it to Cristal, and she placed two of the vials in the machine. She searched for a switch and found a lever. With a flip of the lever the machine started to hum.  _

 

_ “That should do it.” Cristal said, “Someone get the light switch.”  _

 

_ “I got it!” Nora said, as she started to feel the wall for the light switch. When she found the light switch, and she flipped it upward. At first it seemed like nothing had happened, but after awhile, the light had started to flicker, and the room filled with it’s glow; Roman put out a flame and put the lighter in his pocket. “Finally light.” Jaune said relieved.  _

 

_ The whole group noticed the dust all around the kitchen. “... I don’t think anyones been living in this house for a while.” Melody said.  _

 

_ “No kidding.” Rosario said, noticing the actual state of the kitchen, and turning on the light of the living room, “This whole place is a mess. Wonder how long this house has been like this?”  _

 

_ “Or who lived here?” Ren said. _

 

_ They heard Scout sneeze again, getting their attention turned to her, “I still can’t see anything with this mud.” Scout said to the group. “Oh right.” Ruby said, “Now that you mention, we’re all freezing. Let’s see if we can find a bathroom anywhere, and get the mud off of you.”  _

 

_ “That would be nice.” Scout said, “And some dry clothes would be nice too.”  _

 

_ “If we’re able to find the bathroom, we can see if there is hot water.” Melody said, “I think most of us here would want to take a hot shower.”  _

 

_ “Ditto.” Neo said.  _

 

_ “After being out in the rain for hours and hours, I could really use one.” Rosario said.  _

 

_ “Just be on your guard.” Roman said, “You never know what could be in here.”  _

 

_ “This house doesn’t look like it’s been used for awhile.” Jaune said, “What could be in here?”  _

 

_ Just as this was said, as the girls went up the stairs, a couple of bats suddenly flown from the upstairs making Jaune scream slightly as the bats flew out of the open door. They all looked at Jaune awkwardly, and he couldn’t help but laugh out of embarrassment. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the look Jaune was giving and he had eventually laughed along with them. “Okay, let’s start looking around.” Cristal said, “We’ll take upstairs, and you boy's, can stay down here and see what you can find.” _

 

_ “Sure.” Ren said, “It isn’t like there’s nothing better to do.”  _

 

_ With that, all the girls went up the stairs while the boy's stayed on the first floor.  _

 

_ They turned on the hallway lights and had managed to find where the bathroom was, a couple of them actually, since they found at least five guest bedrooms, with their own bathroom. “Huh…” Neo said, “I guess this guy used to have a lot of visitors.”  _

 

_ “Looks like.” Rosario said.  _

 

_ “At the very least we have beds to sleep on, despite all the dust.” Melody said, as she lead Scout to one of the rooms, “I’m gonna go help Scout get this mud off of her.”  _

 

_ “Good luck with that.” Neo said, “I’m gonna see if I can get washed up, in one of these rooms.”  _

 

_ “Me too.” Rosario said.  _

 

_ “Cristal and I will see about the master bedroom!” Ruby said hooking her arm with Cristal’s. “You two have fun.” Melody said. Rosario, Melody, Scout and Neo went into the rooms as Ruby and Cristal pushed onward towards whatever was down the hall. They entered the master bedroom, the light above, flickering ever so slightly. The room was rather large in size and in the middle of the room had a large worn out bed covered in dust. A dresser sat by the bedside of the room, with pictures that looked faded.  _

 

_ Cristal picked up the picture to look at. “Looks like the owner of this establishment was some kind of doctor. Wonder what could’ve happened to him.”  _

 

_ “Don’t know.” Ruby said removing her red cloak, “I think I’m gonna go get dried off and get in some warm clothing. Rather not take a shower and waste all the hot water for everyone else.”  _

 

_ “You can go and do that, I’m gonna go and get changed in the bathroom, maybe wash up my face.” Cristal said.  _

 

_ Ruby nodded, as Cristal opened the bathroom door and turning on the light, taking her bag with her. Ruby placed her bag on the bed and started to change out of her usual wear. She switched from her usual wear to a long sleeved red t-shirt with long black pants and white socks. She couldn’t help but sigh with relief after she was in warm clothing.  _

 

_ “Ah! Much better!” Ruby said with a smile, “Welp, time to hang up, these clothing up to dry, wonder if there any hangers left in the closet.”  _

 

_ Ruby looked around the room and spotted the closet. She approached it and opened it, finding only two clothes hanger up on the shelf above. Ruby reached for the clothes hanger, going on her tippy toes. She managed to grab two of the hangers, and slid it off the shelf but-- _

 

**_THUD!_ **

 

_ Ruby flinched slightly when she heard something fall to the ground. She turned and saw that it was a worn out book of some kind; Ruby tilted her head slightly at this. After she hung up her dress and draped her red cloak over the bar, she went to pick up the book; taking a quick look at it, she realized that it was journal. Curious to who it belonged to, she opened the book and saw faded handwriting that was written in cursive.  _

 

_ On the inside of a cover she saw a name, most likely whoever owned the journal.  _

 

_ “Property of  _ **_Forrest Zeitlin_ ** _?” Ruby read, before thinking aloud, “I guess that’s the person who lived here.” _

 

_ Ruby started to flip through the pages and saw that most of the first few pages had pictures. One of the man, named Forrest himself, with people, men women and children alike. They were most likely his patients Ruby thought to herself. Soon enough she found of the man’s hand writing; they were research notes from Ruby could tell, with a photograph of what appeared to be an artifact of some kind, which she found strange. Was he also an archeologist, she thought. She couldn’t tell the color of the butterfly since the photo was colored in black and white.  _

 

_ “It’s been years since I’ve studied  _ **_its_ ** _ pattern.” Ruby read to herself as she sat herself on the bed, “After studying it, looking into it, I know it stays with  _ **_them_ ** _. They told me, in the past, it used to go from one generation to another, and they were to become the  _ **_next head of the family_ ** _. Since the Great War, it had become nothing more than a legend, since before anyone knew it. They say that it had left them, because of what happened between the kingdoms, or some say it that it never existed to begin with and it was all just a ruse. Some hadn’t lost hope of it returning, despite the winds of change between them. They know--”  _

 

_ As Ruby went to look through the next entry, she noticed that the entry had suddenly cut off. She couldn’t help but find suspicious, as she noticed signs that the pages had been torn out, and it had been on purpose. Ruby saw the next set of handwriting, had been sloppy, almost as if, it was written in a hurry.  _

 

_ Ruby continued to read to herself, despite some of the words being in a mess.  _

 

_ “I had hoped that it wasn’t true, but it is as I feared.  _ **_She is aware of its existence._ ** _ She knows it lies with  _ **_them_ ** _. From an old friend, I have learned she had made a deal with the head of the family. She would give it to her willingly but it is unlikely she will keep her end of the bargin when she does. It is unclear to me what she wants with the  _ **_Scion_ ** _ , but if they fulfill her request, it is most likely, that many of the citizens of Remnant will be in more danger than it already is. I have done  _ **_terrible things_ ** _ for her sake, but the least I can do now, is hide all of my research about the Scion. I’ve scattered my papers across the winds of Mistral, in the hopes they can be hidden from her. For the first time in my life, I hope and pray it does not return, for the sake of Remnant and for the sake of whoever shall--”  _

 

_ Once again the sentence was cut off but this time she saw a faint stain of blood at the end of the page, leaving Ruby to wonder what had become of the writer. Though as Ruby reread what was supposedly the last entry to Forrests journal a single word had struck as odd to her.  _

 

_ “ _ **_Scion_ ** _ …?”  _

 

_ Suddenly a scream rang through Ruby’s ear; the voice she had recognized belonged to Cristal. She saw her stumble out of the room looking utterly terrified. She placed her hand over her mouth, as she suddenly started to throw up. Ruby placed the journal over on the dresser and ran over to her.  _

 

_ “Cristal, what’s wrong!?” Ruby said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay!?”  _

 

_ Cristal let out a couple of coughs before saying, “There’s a… I found a…”  _

_  
__  
___“What? Cristal what is it?” Ruby asked not quite understanding her.

 

_ Cristal didn’t say anything to Ruby; instead she pointed to inside the dimly lit bathroom. Ruby looked back to Cristal for a moment before she made her way inside. She took notice of a very strong disgusting aroma in the room; she noticed that the closet inside the bathroom had been opened slightly, and saw a couple of flies buzzing around. Slowly Ruby made her to the closet and peeked inside; her eyes soon widened in horror, before she let out a terrified shriek echoing throughout the house.  _

 

_ There inside the closet of the master bathroom, she saw inside, was a decaying corpse, that had no doubt, been the man…  _ **_Forrest Zeitlin_ ** _. _

* * *

 

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Somewhere in Mistral; Farmland_ ** -

 

As Oscar did his usual chores around the farm, Destiny couldn’t help but explore more if it’s land. As usual she didn’t go far from where Oscar lived, since he is the only one she can even talk to much to their own confusion. She floated at a certain height from the ground as she enjoyed the view of the sun and sky. As she enjoyed the view of it all she couldn’t but wonder the same thing she had always wondered ever since she found Oscar. She wondered about her friends and her father and Neo. 

 

Lately, the pattern with disappearing and reappearing had just come to a sudden halt, and she couldn’t help as to wonder why. She was still new to this whole out of her own body experience and didn’t quite fully understand what in the world was going on or what was happening to her, but she asked herself why. She wanted to find them, the people she loved and cared about but, she couldn’t accomplish anything by staying here. Though she had no control of what was happening to her, or even why it was happening to her. The more she thought about it, the more it confused her. 

 

Her train of thought was soon diverted off of the rails, when she noticed Oscar going inside, and it looked like he was in a hurry. She tilted her head slightly at this, and she descended towards the the building through the roof and into his room. She saw him packing up, putting everything into a bag. 

 

“What are you doing?” Destiny asked, “You’re packing a bag, are you going somewhere?” 

 

“I’m going to the city.” Oscar replied. 

 

This had surprised Destiny a little, “The city? You’re actually going to go there?” 

 

“Yeah.” Oscar replied, “There’s something that I want answered, and, my best bet is in the city.” 

 

“Something you want answered?” Destiny mumbled to herself, before asking, “Wait, what about your Aunt? Is she okay with this?” 

 

Oscar replied, turning to her, “I asked her this morning. She said she was okay with me going, as long as I keep in touch with her.” 

 

“Oh so you’re really going to be leaving?”

 

“That’s the plan.” 

 

“And whatever it is you’re looking for, you’re not going to stop until you find it?” 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

Destiny crossed her legs, as she gently floated to the ground having a somewhat sad look on her face. “It’s funny, you kinda sound like my friend Ruby.” She said, “When I first met her, she had no hesitation to let me hide in her dorm room with her friends and sister. She said that they would protect me, and keep me happy when they took me in. She was even determined to help me find my dad. And maybe, maybe she’s determined to find me too, but I can’t--” 

 

Her words started to trail off as she started to mumble; she started to play with her hair a little bit despite her body being transparent, leaving silence between them. Oscar could tell, that whoever her friends are she had missed them dearly. From the moment she had appeared she had thought about nothing but them, throughout her time here on the farm. Everytime she would bring them up, her words would just trail off. He could tell that she desperately wants to find them and be reunited with them. 

 

Finally Oscar had spoke up, “You know… You can come with me.” 

 

Destiny looked up to Oscar just shocked and at a loss of words. He continued to speak, “Maybe if you come to the city with me, you can find out where your body is. And if you can get your body back you can reunite with your friends, and your dad.” 

 

“My body…” Destiny said, “You really think I can find my body there?” 

 

“Not necessarily, but you can get an idea to where your body is.” Oscar said, “We can help each other too!” 

 

“You really mean it?” She asked him. 

 

Oscar simply nodded his head with a smile. 

 

“That’s really kind of you Oscar, and I really appreciate it.” Destiny said, “But… I can’t do anything when I’m like this. I’m just invisible to the world, and I can only touch the ground.” 

 

“Oh, I guess you’re right about that.” Oscar said, but soon had thought of an idea, “Hey wait a second, you said you’ve been able to go inside the body of Grimm right?” 

 

Destiny was confused by this but had nodded her head in reply. “What if you can do the same thing you do to Grimm to other things?” Oscar asked her. 

 

Destiny just sat there shocked at what he was suggesting exactly. “You mean like posses a person?” Destiny said, “Like the monsters in the horror films?” 

 

“Well maybe not posses a person, but, you know…” Oscar said trying to put it into words, “Just a temporary body that you can use, until you get your real one back.” 

 

“Put myself in a temporary body?” Destiny said, “But I don’t even know what’s happening to me, I don’t know if I can do it. I can’t even control a Grimm’s body for long!” 

 

“If you’re able to go into one Grimm after another, than where’s the harm in trying it?” The young boy said to her. 

 

Destiny still looked nervous at this, as she started to rub her elbow. She was going it over in her head on what should she do. In way she thought, Oscar did have a point. If she could go to the city, she could have an idea on where to look for her body. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be a start. She supposed it would be better than hopping from one creature of Grimm to another. Destiny gulped and had eventually replied, “... O… Okay… I suppose I could try it.” Destiny said, “Though I can’t guarantee that I’ll know how to do it exactly. Do you have any ideas, on what I could use?” 

 

Oscar thought about as he scratched beneath his chin. He thought long and hard at what she could use, since, she couldn’t exactly posses a person and  **_CERTAINLY_ ** not go prancing around in the body of a Grimm. It wasn’t until--

 

“I’ve got it!” Oscar said, “Wait here a second!” 

 

This left the little one confused as she saw him leave the room, and hear him go down the later. After mere moments of staying where she was, she heard him come back and enter the room again, but this time he was holding something in the palm of his hand. A small victorian doll, made from wood to be exact. The little doll was of an elf, as she could tell from the small pointed ears, and most of its hair was of a golden yellow. The right of her hair, from the side of the hair had transitioned to a brown color. The hair was tied into pair of braids, and it’s eyes was of a light crystal red. The little doll wore a sleeveless brown hooded wool coat; holding it together was a simple purple ribbon. Underneath the coat was a simple dress that was of the color green and she wore a pair of small brown wool shoes. 

 

The little doll as shown to be flexible, as the head rested on Oscar’s hand; even the fingers showed signs of it being bendable. 

 

“What an adorable little doll!” Destiny said looking to it. 

 

“My aunt said this doll belonged to her when she was a kid.” Oscar said, “She never actually did have the heart to give it away. Maybe you can use this, until your body is found.” 

 

“Maybe, but just one problem…” Destiny said awkwardly, “... I’m not sure how to do this.” 

 

“Well, how does it usually work for you when you enter a body of a Grimm?” 

 

“That’s the thing, I don’t even know how it happens. One minute I could be exploring your home, or farmland and than when I blink, I just find myself in the body of a Grimm.” 

 

“Do you at least have an idea on how that happens?” 

 

“No, I don’t know! I’m still new to this whole thing, I’ve never had a literal out of the body experience so I don’t know if I’ll be able to--” 

 

Destiny had soon been cut off when there was a sudden white glow in the room, which made them both jump. An insignia of butterfly in the shade of blue, appeared in the middle of her forehead and Oscar noticed that her eye had changed to white. They were both left stunned at this. “Oscar…?” Destiny said somewhat fearfully, “What’s happening?” 

 

“You’re eye changed color, and there’s a butterfly in the middle of your forehead.” Oscar said to her, just as stunned as she was. Suddenly the little butterfly on her forehead started to move its wings; it flew from where it sat, causing her and Oscar to back up slightly at this; the small butterfly was made entirely of a blue light, its wings decorated with white lines. It circled around Destiny for a moment before fluttering over to the small doll that Oscar held, landing on its neck as if it made a bowtie. 

 

Just than the butterfly seem to sink into the doll’s wooden skin, and at the same time Destiny’s transparent body started to light up with blue. 

 

“What’s goin--!?” 

 

There was a sudden explosion of blue light causing Oscar to scream slightly and drop the doll on accident; he fell onto the bed. “Destiny?” He called out, “Destiny? Where are you?” When he heard no answer from the child, he looked to the doll, and saw the blue butterfly still on it’s neck. “Wait… Don’t tell me…” Oscar said to himself as he looked to the doll. 

 

He saw the wooden fingers twitch on the doll, and the doll suddenly blinked as it gasped for air; he jumped back slightly when the doll sat up straight. The crystal red eyes, had changed color. The left eye was now emerald green while the right eye was of an orange color in a pool of tar. 

 

Just from that, right off the bat he knew exactly who it was. 

 

“ **_... Destiny…?_ ** ” Oscar said still stunned by what was happening. 

 

The little doll, who had happened to be Destiny looked up. “Oscar…?” She said, before looking at her hands. She felt her own fingers before feeling her face and pointed ears. “Huh…” Destiny said, “I guess it worked…” 

 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Oscar said to her, “How does it feel?” 

 

Destiny looked to her leg, and moved both of her feet a little. With effort, she slowly stood up from the floor with her legs shaking slightly. As she took a step forward she suddenly fell backwards on the floor. 

 

“I’m not gonna lie…” Destiny said to Oscar, “... This feels  **_SUPER_ ** weird.”

* * *

 

- **_Kuroyuri_ ** -

 

Mere hours had passed since the teams had split up, and, Ruby along with, Jaune, Scout and her cousin Melody with Senka following behind them, pressed onward towards the deserted village of Kuroyuri. With them, they had two of their injured, Qrow and Cristal. Despite what Ren had said, they had decided to go through the village with the two of them since they were both in no condition to go climb up the mountain. They had hoped once they had reached the village, they could find some medicine or scraps of herbs Scout could use to make an antidote. They couldn’t let them die, they just couldn’t. 

 

They arrived at the village only to find it in ruins. Buildings were either shattered or covered in ash, as evidence from a fire, the flags torn, and the roads were torn apart. As they looked around the area, they couldn’t help but get an eerie feeling, that had sent a chill down their spine. Frosty came out of Ruby’s hood to perch on top of her head to get a good look, though Ruby didn’t mind. 

 

“Oh God…” Scout said horrified of the scene before them. 

 

“Damn…” Melody said. 

 

“Come on.” Ruby said to them with a determined look. The four of them walked through the village, carrying Qrow on the make-shift stretcher while Cristal was on Jaune’s back. They walked through the streets looking at the various buildings that had surrounded them. The cold air surrounded them, making them shiver slightly.

 

“Do any of these places look like a pharmacy?” Ruby asked the group. 

 

“Honestly…” Jaune said looking around, “... It’s hard to tell them apart.” 

 

“They all just look the same.” Melody said. 

 

“This is all just awful…” Scout said, “... Did the Grimm… Did they really do all of this?”

 

Ruby looked around the area as well; she looked and saw a bike on it’s side, all busted and covered in ash. “... Ren, really didn’t want to come here…” Ruby said, “... Did he?” 

 

“It didn’t seem so.” Jaune said. 

 

“I can see why…” Scout said, “I don’t know how anyone can stomach this.” 

 

Ruby looked to Jaune, “Do you know why he didn’t want to come here?” 

 

Jaune looked around the village once more, “I think I have a pretty good idea as to why.” 

 

“I can only imagine what the people had to endure.” Melody said. 

 

After awhile, they had set Qrow and Cristal up against a dead tree, that stood in the middle of the once lively village. Senka laid against the tree next to Cristal, once in awhile he nuzzled her head gently with his beak. Melody sat beside her father still holding onto his hand, while Frosty sat by her side and Scout had brushed a cold wet rag against their faces in an attempt to bring their fevers down. Ruby and Jaune who had been exploring the town, returned to them; both of them had a look of dejection on their faces. 

 

“Any luck?” Melody asked. 

 

Ruby went over to Melody and kneeled beside her, “No.” She replied with a look of sadness on her face, “Jaune and I looked everywhere, and we couldn’t find anything, not even herbs or painkillers.”  

 

“... Oh.” Melody said with sadness as well.

 

“... I guess it was worth the shot.” Scout said with her ears going down. 

 

They soon heard roars in the distance, which caused Jaune to tense up as he reached for his sword. “Jaune, it’s okay.” Scout said to him calmly. 

 

“Yeah.” Ruby said, “It’s far off.” 

 

Jaune let out a sigh as he let go the handle of his sword, “... I know, but the others… They’re still out there.” 

 

“Jaune, they’ll be fine. I know they will.” Scout said to Jaune going over to him. 

 

Ruby looked to Qrow, Cristal and the others. Honestly she didn’t know how much more of this she could take. She knew she had to be strong, for the sake of her friends, for the sake of Destiny she had to. Though she was really reaching the tipping point of this. After everything they had gone through yesterday, after their encounter with the enemy, after everything that happened last night, what they heard Ruby didn’t know how much more of it she could handle. Melody could lose her only parent, she and Yang could lose their uncle, her whole team could lose Cristal, they could’ve lost Roman. Who knows what else could happen if they continued forward. 

 

**“** **_It’s all my fault…_ ** **”**

 

Ruby stood up, as she clenched her fist; Melody looked at her with concern. 

 

“ **_I’m sorry…_ ** ” Ruby said, getting everyone's attention. 

 

“Ruby?” Melody asked with worry. 

 

“What?” Scout asked. 

 

“What are you saying?” Jaune asked concerned.

 

“... This… All of this is happening…  **_Because of me_ ** …” Ruby said to them, “... I never shouldn’t have dragged you, any of you guys into this.” 

 

“No, no cuz don’t say that.” Melody said to her, as she stood up too. 

 

Jaune nodded his head in agreement, “You didn’t drag any of us into this. We came with you because we wanted to come.” 

 

“He’s right Ruby.” Scout said, “Myself, Rosario, and Melody, were in this from the start, because of Cristal. Despite the risks, we made the choice to go and help her even after she told us what she was. And after we met you, we made the choice to come with you like we did back than.”

 

“But…” Ruby said turning to Qrow and Cristal, “You guys didn’t know about Tyrian, the other Shadows and Elise… I failed to protect Destiny and because of that she was taken… Cristal got hurt, I almost got Roman killed, and Uncle Qrow was--” 

 

“Don’t.” Melody said sternly, stopping her and getting her attention, “... Don’t do that. I’ve known you my whole life, and the Ruby I know and love would never put the blame on herself. If you think I’m mad at you than your wrong. I could never hold a grudge on you, you know that.” 

 

“You’re a good person.” Scout said to her, “I don’t want to see you put yourself at the blame. It makes me sad, if you’re upset.” 

 

“But I--” Ruby said. 

 

“Ruby.” Jaune started to say, cutting her off this time “... We…  **_Lost Pyrrha_ ** . You lost her too. And Penny, your team, and… In a way you lost your sister. **_And yet your still here_ ** . Despite everything you’ve lost, everything you could still lose, you chose to come out here, because you felt like you can make a difference. You didn’t drag any of us along…  **_You gave us the courage to follow you_ ** .”

 

Ruby looked to Jaune and the others, with an expressionless look on her face, but she took the words to heart. Eventually she smiled to them, grateful for what they said to her. Jaune, Scout and Melody smiled back at her, but Melody soon lost her smile when she and Jaune looked to one another. That’s when she suddenly turned and walked away from them. 

 

“Melody?” Scout said, “Where are you going?” 

 

Melody stopped in her tracks, and turned to her slightly, “I’m going to take another look around.” She replied, “Look after my dad and Cristal until I get back.” 

 

“But Melody they already--” Scout started to say, before Ruby stopped her. She simply shook her head to Scout. The young Fanus girl, seemed to have understand what Ruby was saying through her expression, “Okay.” Scout said to her partner, “Just, don’t be too long.” 

 

“... I know…” Melody said. With that she walked back the way Jaune and Ruby came, none of them actually stopping her; Frosty had followed close behind her. Jaune looked down at his feet. “I… I guess she’s still upset after what I said to her last night.” 

 

“You didn’t talk to her about it yet, did you?” Scout asked. 

 

Jaune had replied, “...No. I didn’t have the time to since well… We had to take care of Qrow and Cristal.” 

 

Scout soon said, “... I’ll be honest, Melody doesn’t tell me a lot of things about her life before she came out here. I’m supposed to be her partner and as partners we should help each other… I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could help her.” 

 

Jaune looked to Scout and Ruby, “... After the way she acted, after I said all of those things... Do you think she still hates me?” 

 

Scout had said nothing, she just turned away thinking. Ruby had soon replied to Jaune, “I’ll admit, I’m family and even I don’t know much about Melody’s problems or why she looked so scared last night. All I know is she hasn’t been the same since she got her semblance. Melody, despite her being my cousin, she’s been like another sister to me and Yang, so we pretty much know each other like the back of our hands. I know despite everything you said to her, she doesn’t hate you. When you have the time, you can talk to her and see.” 

 

Jaune turned to Ruby before letting out a sigh, “Yeah… I’ll remember that.”

* * *

 

- **_Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_ With the whole group wearing their spare clothing, had heard Ruby let out a terrifying shriek, and they were just horrified as she was when they found the corpse hanging from within the closet. All of them had quickly concluded that the corpse found inside, was the man who had owned the house they were in. Ruby had told them, that through the help of his old journal, the corpse was name Forrest Zeitlin. They couldn’t just leave the body where they found it, so Roman, Neo and Ren had to move the body out of the room with care. They had gotten it downstairs, into the kitchen, putting an old cover on top of the body.  _

 

_ “Well…” Rosario said, “At the very least we know what happened to the owner.”  _

 

_ “Do you think he was murdered?” Ren asked curiously.  _

 

_ “Who knows…” Roman said, “... Even if he was, someone went through the trouble to make it look like he took his own life.”  _

 

_ “Who in the world could’ve done this?” Neo asked.  _

 

_ Within the living room, the rest of the group had looked over the journal that Ruby had found in the closet, as Nora had gotten a fire going within the fire place that was provided, while Melody herself decided to explore more of the house. Cristal shut the book after they were finished reading with it. “Well Cristal?” Ruby said, “What do you make of it?”  _

 

_ “Well, it does sound familiar.” Cristal said, “But just like how my kind is I’ve heard about this Scion in stories and fairytales.”  _

 

_ “So…” Jaune said, “Whatever this Scion, it’s another legend? Like the Grimm Flower the Efah?”  _

 

_ “In a way, the Scion is a legend itself.” Cristal said, “At least it used to be.”  _

 

_ “Used to be?” Nora asked.  _

 

_ Cristal had simply replied, “Long when Remnant was in its Golden Age hell even before there was kingdom's, they’re used to be a lot of things that people had grown accustomed to. The Scion, and Efah alike. In fact, believe it or not they’re used to be more of me, people that were born from a simple flower and were known as Shadows. But ever since the Great War, a whole lot of us were wiped out and our lives faded into nothing more than stories. The Scion used to be known by many people, but if you were to mention it now to someone, I guarantee that they would just laugh in your face and call you crazy.”  _

 

_ “... So, what is a Scion exactly?” Scout asked, “Is it supposed to be some sort of weapon?”  _

 

_ Cristal simply shook her head, “A Scion is not a thing. It’s actually a  _ **_person_ ** _.”  _

 

_ The group’s eyes widened slightly at the sound of this. “A person?” Jaune asked, “What do you mean a person?”  _

 

_ Cristal started to explain, “Unfortunately, I’m not sure how the Scion came to be, but from what I’ve heard, or at the very least understand, that before the kingdoms were formed they were said be an ally to the Silver Eyed Warriors.” _

 

_ “Silver Eyes…” Ruby said, “You mean people like me…?”  _

 

_ Cristal didn’t say anything but nodded her head in reply, “But like I said, it’s only what I’ve heard. I don’t even know if it’s true or not.”  _

 

_ Scout took the journal from Cristal and looked over it’s continents again, “This, Forrest person, mentioned being a part of something terrible.” Scout said before looking to her leader, “Cristal, do you think he has to do with the person that you can’t mention? The one who’s in control of Cinder?”  _

 

_ Cristal simply shrugged at this as she replied, “The hell if I know. This man basically expired years ago, and I was created three years way after his death. I wouldn’t be able to tell you, since I was never there to begin with.”  _

 

_ “Wonder what he meant by being a part of something terrible though.” Nora said, “Makes you think about it.”  _

 

_ “I guess.” Ruby said, “But… With pages being torn out and somewhere across Mistral, I guess we’ll never know.”  _

 

_ Melody soon came back into the room; she caught her breath as she leaned against the door frame of the living room, “Guys…” She said, struggling to catch her breath and getting their attention.  _

 

_ “What is it? What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ Melody soon replied, “... You all have to see what I found.”  _

 

_ The whole group looked confused but stood up and went to follow Melody. She had lead them towards the house's basement. They followed her down the stairs towards a flickering light just at the bottom of it. When they all got to the bottom of the stairs, there they saw a hospital bed, with restraints and faint traces of blood and a  _ **_black substance_ ** _ on the bed, floor and walls. Machines surrounded the bed that were destroyed far beyond repair and desk with a single book shelf sat at the far end of the room, with a picture frame covered in dust. Not only that, black dust was seen across the floor as well.  _

 

_ From there, they could all tell that it was what remained of Grimm.  _

 

_ “Wha…” Ruby started to say, “What is all of this…?”  _

 

_ “I--I can’t tell.” Jaune said.  _

 

_ The whole group entered the strange room, as they started to look around. Rosario had examined the bed with leather restraints. “Call me crazy…” Rosario said, “... But I think this might’ve been a lab of some kind.”  _

 

_ Nora and Ren examined the black dust, still not fully believing that it really was what they all thought it was.  _

 

_ “All of this belongs to Grimm.” Ren said, “They’re remains of a Grimm.” _

 

_ “But why would a doctor, be experimenting on Grimm?” Nora asked.  _

 

_ Cristal looked just under the bed, and her eyes widened slightly at what she found, “He wasn’t experimenting on Grimm.” She said, as the group looked to her confused. _

 

_ “How do you know that?” Neo asked. Cristal didn’t say anything but instead she took a tissue from a tissue box nearby. She reached under the bed pulled out from under the bed, a rotting dismembered hand making everyone gasp. Black vapor was seen, just like how the creature of Grimm's body was after it was killed. _

 

_ “Is that a...?” Melody said in shock. _

 

_ “Holy crap…” Roman said.  _

 

_ “But… That belongs to a person…” Scout said with her voice trembling.  _

 

_ “Clearly.” Cristal said, putting the hand on the ground, “I’m guessing that’s the remains of whoever was tied down to this bed.”  _

 

_ “He was turning someone into a Grimm?!” Neo said, “Why would he do that?!” _

 

_ Indeed, the whole thing didn’t make sense to the whole group. A person just can’t become a Grimm, it’s just not possible for anyone. Well, they knew that it was only half true; they knew of a person that had been infected with Grimm.  _

 

_ “ _ **_Destiny…_ ** _ ” Ruby said, “.... He was making more of her… Does that mean, they’re more people like her out there?”  _

 

_ “Is that even possible?” Nora asked.  _

 

_ “No.” Cristal replied before pointing to the hand, “Whoever this hand belonged to was a failed attempt to make one like her.” Cristal than gestured to the black dust and the faint black substance on the sheets, “And those are evidence that it wasn’t just one victim. There may have been more, hundreds more even." _

 

_ The group looked around the room once more. This time a chill had gone down their spine at the thought of who knows how many victims taken down inside this place many would consider a nightmare. This time Rosario, and Melody approached the machinery, taking a closer look at it. “This is all just awful.” Ruby said, “To think that there could’ve so many people down here.  _

 

_ “Did this all happen after Destiny was infected?” Jaune questioned _

 

_ “That’s impossible. If Forrest really was involved in this in someway the date in the journal goes back to at least 20 years ago.” Roman said, “And based on his last entry date, that would’ve been a year before Destiny was even around.”  _

 

_ “So this all happened before she had gotten infected.” Ren stated, “Before she was born.” _

 

_ “It does explain a lot considering the evidence we found.” Neo said..  _

 

_ “From the looks of things this machinery has been like this for some time.” Melody said turning to the group, “Most likely this was here as long as this house has been standing.”  _

 

_ “And with the way it is, I doubt that they continued any work like this” Rosario added.  _

 

_ “He really could’ve done all of this?” Ruby asked.  _

 

_ “...  _ **_I don’t think he even had a choice on the matter._ ** _ ” Cristal said, thinking back to the photographs that Ruby and her found upstairs. _

 

_ Roman soon turned his attention to the desk; he looked over the continents, through papers to books. Most of the ink had been washed off by something so some of the words were extremely hard to read. Roman soon noticed the picture frame. He picked it up and wiped the dust off of it; his eyes soon widened in horror and shock. The group noticed this reaction from him.  _

 

_ “Roman?” Neo asked going over to him, “What is it? What’s--?”  _

 

_ Neo soon had the same reaction he did when her eyes laid on the picture. Everyone else was curious as to why they had very similar reactions. Ruby went over to them to look over their shoulders to see the picture. In the picture she saw the man from the earlier photographs in the rooms upstairs. Beside him was a young woman; her hair in the color of ash tied back, and eyes were in the color of amber. She wore a white lab coat under a pale green collar shirt with a dark brown skirt.  _

 

_ “Roman? Neo?” Ruby asked, “Who is that?”  _

 

_ Roman turned to Ruby, and replied with hesitation, “... That’s Trinity’s step-mom…  _ **_Quinta…_ ** _ ”  _

 

_ The whole group was put into shock at the answer. _

* * *

 

- **_Present; Somewhere in Mistral_ ** -

 

After everything had calmed down, and moments of packing, Oscar finally made his way out of the comfort of his home. Destiny had went along with him, but for now, she was hanging out inside in his bag, finally getting a good rest after being some kind of ghost for weeks on end. For a moment he turned back to the place called home, giving it one last glance. Fixing his bag slightly, he started to walk again. As he made his way down the road, clouds above had started to roll in; thinking that they might be in for a storm, he picked up the pace slightly. 

 

Finally, a familiar voice had broken the silence around him. 

 

It was Ozpin. 

 

“ _... I’m sorry. _ ” He heard Ozpin say in his head. 

 

Oscar let out a sigh before he said to the voice, “... You know something… The weirdest part is how it feels. Leaving home is crazy. Going to the city is crazy. Everything you’ve told me… Everything Destiny told me is completely crazy. But…  **_It doesn’t feel crazy anymore_ ** . It feels like I’m doing the right thing.” 

 

“ _ Well… I suppose that’s good. _ ” Ozpin said to him. 

 

“No.” Oscar said to him, “It’s crazy.” 

 

As soon as the sound of thunder was heard, the rain had started to set in, making Oscar run along the path. It had taken awhile, but eventually, he had soon reached the train station. He ran onto the covered platform, and took a moment to catch his breath. He looked around and saw that no one was around, which was good thing for him. 

 

“Hey Destiny.” He said looking over his shoulder to the bag, “Are you awake? We’re at the train station. 

 

Some rustling sounds were heard in his bag, in the large pouch; and sure enough, Destiny still in the body of a doll came peeking out letting out a slight yawn. “Is it safe to come out?” She asked with a whisper. 

 

“It’s okay no one's here.” Oscar replied, holding his hand out to her so that she could climb onto it. She opened the bag slightly, before she climbed onto his hand; he brought her in front of him. Destiny stretched her wooden limbs as she groaned. 

 

“It feels really nice to actually get some sleep.” Destiny said as she fixed up her dress, “Though that doesn’t stop it from this feeling weird.” 

 

“Hopefully you don’t have to be in the body of a doll for long.” Oscar said to her. 

 

“I hope the same thing.” She said to him, “So we can really get to the city from here?” 

 

Oscar nodded his head to her before saying, “All we gotta do is get a ticket.”  

 

He walked over to a ticket machine nearby, and he allowed Destiny to climb right onto the keyboard of the machine. He started to search for his wallet. 

 

“This is actually so exciting!” Destiny said as she bounced slightly, “I’ve never been to another city before. I’ve mostly lived in Vale all my life! That and I’ve never taken the train!” 

 

“Really, you never have? Not even once?” Oscar asked her, as he got his wallet out of his pocket. 

 

Destiny simply shook her head to him, “My dad and I just usually stay within Vale most of my life. We’ve never taken vacations, so it’s going to be real cool to see another city! Despite the fact that I’m in a body of a doll.” 

 

“I guess it would be considered a close second.” He said to her jokingly. 

 

Oscar took out a lien card, and placed it on the screen to scan it. After a few moments the screen turned read. 

 

“ **_UNABLE TO COMPLETE REQUEST. REASON GIVEN: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS (CODE: 726)_ ** ” The machine had read. 

 

“What the heck?” Oscar said shocked, “It should’ve worked.” 

 

“Maybe it didn’t read it?” Destiny said with a shrug. Oscar placed his lien card on the screen once more, but it ended up saying the same thing as it did before; Oscar couldn’t help but groan. 

 

“Okay, I got nothing.” Destiny said, slumping slightly. 

 

“Stupid machine.” Oscar said, before asking, “I’m assuming whatever weird magic this is doesn’t come with an infinite supply of money?” 

 

“I kind of wish it did.” Destiny had replied. Though what Destiny didn’t know was, he was actually directing his question towards the voice in his head, Ozpin.

 

He had chuckled slightly before replying, “ _ I’m afraid you’ll have to solve this one on your-- _ ” 

 

Oscar noticed that Ozpin had cut himself off suddenly. “What is it?” Oscar whispered slightly, not wanting Destiny to hear him. 

 

“ _ Hide Destiny. Be on your guard. _ ” Ozpin soon said in a hushed tone. 

 

“What, why?” Oscar asked confused. 

 

Destiny tilted her head slightly since she noticed how Oscar looked, “What’s wrong?” She asked. 

 

“I don’t know.” Oscar replied in whisper, “But you need to hide.” 

 

Before Destiny could ask why, a voice had come over them. 

 

“Here.” 

 

At the sound of voice, Destiny hide herself, by putting her back against the wall next to the keyboard of the machine; she stood as still as a statue. Oscar turned to the direction of the voice and saw a man coming towards him. The man was large and muscular and had skin of brown. He had short brown hair and beard, and eyes that were of hazel. He wore a two-tone olive green coat with a large belt around his waist. His pants were black and the boats he wore was brown and white fronts. Some hair was seen on his arms, and Oscar could make out some scars at the edge of his sleeves. 

 

The man soon towered over him, as he stopped near the machine. He raised his fist in the air, and Oscar couldn’t help but tense at this. The man’s fist landed on top of the machine, and the impact of it caused Destiny to stumble slightly almost falling where she stood. Oscar slowly stood up as the machine started to let out beep sounds. In the matter of seconds, the machine dispensed a single ticket and it drifted to the ground. 

 

The man walked away and Oscar went to pick up the ticket up off the ground. As the man stepped out into the rain, he stopped to turn back to Oscar. 

 

“Don’t let such a small obstacle block your path.” The man had said to him. With that he resumed his way, as Oscar watched him walk away. Destiny moved and let out a deep breath, as if she had been holding it in forever. “... That man…” Oscar said, “I felt… Who is he…?” 

 

“ _ Someone from my  _ **_past_ ** _. _ ” Ozpin replied, “ _ Someone who should  _ **_not_ ** _ be taken lightly. _ ” 

 

Destiny tilted her head slightly again, as she watched the man disappear into the distance. “That’s weird…” Destiny said, getting Oscar’s attention. “What is?” He asked her. 

 

“I think…” Destiny said, “... I think I’ve seen him before…” 

 

“ **_Destiny! Destiny!_ ** ” 

 

Destiny had jumped slightly, when she soundly heard a voice call out to her; this had caused her to look around, which left Oscar perplexed. 

 

“ **_Destiny, if you can hear me, you have to hang on, just a little longer! I’ll get you somewhere safe! I won’t let them take you away!_ ** ” 

 

Destiny of course recognized the voice calling out to her, but, something didn’t feel right, at least to her. It sounded like her, but at the same time it didn’t. Oscar soon her attention, “What’s wrong?” He asked, “You looked kind of dazed.” 

 

Destiny turned but gave a small reassured smile, “I’m okay. I guess I’m still trying to get used to being in a doll.” 

 

Oscar let out a sigh, before holding out his hand to her again, “Let’s wait inside, till the train comes, alright?” Destiny nodded to him, before climbing onto his hand again. They both found the door open, and they went inside to wait for the train.

* * *

 

The second group, that had taken the path through the mountains, this being, Ren, Nora, Rosario, Neo and Roman, had been climbing for hours and hours, just to get where they needed to go. Often they would stop and take breaks just to catch their breath, before they continued up again. They had hurried as fast as they could for the sake of their friends; Destiny, Cristal, and Ruby’s uncle Qrow.

 

They managed to get to a stony ledge, with them once again. Rosario and Ren were the first ahead of the group, and they looked ahead and saw more mountain, and a cave up ahead; Roman, Neo, and Nora soon came up behind them. All three of them, were out of breath; Roman especially. 

 

“Oh good.” Rosario said, wiping the sweat off of her forehead, “More mountains. Just great.” 

 

“We never get the easy path do we?” Ren said. 

 

Nora came up next to him; putting her arms behind her head, “Easy is no fun anyway.”

 

Roman sat himself down on a rock nearby, resting his hands and head on his Melodic Cudgel; Neo went over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “How’s everyone doing?” Rosario asked, “Everyone good so far?”

 

“I’m fine.” Ren said to her.

 

“As long as I’ve got Ren here, I’ll be a okay.” Nora said with a smile. 

 

“I’m doing good so far.” Neo soon replied, “Nothing I can’t handle.”

 

“I’ll be fine.” Roman said between breaths; he groaned slightly as he grasped his side, “... Just give me a second to catch my breath.” 

 

“Of course.” Ren said. 

 

Rosario soon stood up straight as she stretched her arms and legs. “Okay.” Rosario said rubbing her hands together, “I’m gonna go on ahead to see if there’s a safe way around here. Nora, I could use an extra set of eyes.” 

 

“You got it!” Nora said to her with her thumbs up. With that, the two of them walked ahead of the group, while the group, stayed where they were. Ren turned to Roman when he heard him hiss his breath through his teeth. 

 

“You sure your doing okay?” Neo asked. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me.” Roman replied, “... Ashamed to say it, but I think I’m getting to old for this.” Roman couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at this. 

 

“How’s your wound?” Ren asked him. 

 

Roman turned to Ren and replied, “It’s fine, nothing I can’t handle. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to travel with an injury like this.” 

 

“True, but it maybe best if you don’t push yourself.” Ren suggested. 

 

Roman simply nodded his head, as he took deep breaths. Neo patted him on the shoulder before standing herself up; she looked down the path where they came from. “I wonder if the others made it to the village with Qrow and Cristal?” 

 

“I’m sure they have.” Ren said, his hand turning into a fist, “... I just hope they’ll be alright.” 

 

Roman and Neo both looked at one another before turning to Ren, as he had both a worried and a tense look on his face. “Tell me something…” Roman said, “That village, Kuroyuri…  **_It was your home_ ** , wasn’t it?”

 

Ren didn’t say anything, he just turned his gaze to the ground; that seemed to have answered Roman’s question. “... All the other towns and villages across the kingdom had heard what became of it, including mine. I’m very sorry, believe me, I know it’s hard to lose a place you call home.” 

 

Ren turned back to him saying, “What’s past is past. We can’t change what’s already happened.” 

 

“Indeed we can’t.” Roman said to him, “That’s the harsh reality of things. But at the very least… On the bright side, you have yourself a new family.” 

 

Ren looked over to Nora, who was helping Rosario look around for a safe way up the mountain. Ren couldn’t help but smile, “Yes.” He said, “Yes indeed.” The three of them were soon startled when they heard the sound of thunder. They looked up to the sky and saw gray clouds start to roll in. 

 

They soon heard Rosario whistle, “ **HEY! YOU GUYS!** ” She shouted over to them, making their heads turn to her and Nora. 

 

“ **THERE’S WIND BLOWING OUT OF THIS CAVE!** ” Nora yelled pointing to the cave they were standing next to. Ren, Neo, and Roman, had went over to the entrance of the cave where Rosario and Nora stood. All of them felt wind from within the cave followed by an echo howling sound from within, just as Nora had said. 

 

“There must be another entrance on the other side.” Roman said. 

 

“It could be a shortcut through the mountain.” Neo said. 

 

“Think it might lead to the peak?” Nora asked. 

 

Ren looked to Nora and replied, “I suppose there’s only one way to fi--”

 

“ **EEP!** ” 

 

Ren was cut off when Rosario let out a surprised squeak when what looked to be a torn up blanket had hit her in the face; She fell flat on her back from the impact. Nora couldn’t help but laugh while Neo and Roman stood there just shocked. “Yes, yes, very funny.” Ren said before helping Rosario up. He removed the blanket from her face and Rosario shook and fixed up her hair. “Phew, thanks.” She said to him. 

 

“Think of nothing of it.” Ren replied before seeing what had hit her. It was only than, he had gotten strangely quiet and kept still. The others had noticed this and looked to Ren with worry. “Hey?” Nora asked, stepping closer to him, “What’s wrong?” 

 

They looked at the blanket, but soon were quick to realize that what Rosario was actually a flag. The flag was of brown and it had the logo of a purple flower that they all had recognized. 

 

“Wait a minute…” Rosario started to say, “... That’s the symbol for  **_Shion village_ ** …” 

 

“The village where we found the Huntsman?” Nora said, “But… That’s weeks away from here!” 

 

“Than…” Roman said, “How did that flag, get all the way out here?” 

 

Ren suddenly ran inside the cave letting the flag fly into the wind. Nora called out his name and ran in after him, the others had soon followed him. They had gotten deeper into the cave but had soon stopped in their tracks when they saw what was within. Their eyes had widened in horror at the site. 

 

“Oh my gosh…” Nora said, looking around. 

 

Their in the spacious area of the cave broken weapons and speckles laid around the floor and propped up against the rocks and swords stood from the ground. Some sort of puddles black substance from what they could tell laid around the ground and walls. They all looked around the cave as they went further inside. The looked to the weapons and speckles scattered about. 

 

“What the hell is all of this?” Rosario said as she avoided stepping into the puddles. 

 

“I’ve never seen anything like it…” Roman said looking to the walls. 

 

Neo looked to the weapons, “It looks like there was some sort of battle, but… It’s honestly hard to tell.” 

 

Ren picked up an arrow that had been on the floor; the the sand gently fell off as he did. He studied as the others came up from behind. “What in world could’ve done all of this?” Nora wondered. Rosario soon looked to the side and she gulped slightly, “I think I might have a good idea.” They wondered what she meant by that, and she pointed to the ground next to Ren. There eyes laid on a hoof-print, but it was too large for an ordinary horse which could only mean one thing for them. 

 

“That print…” Roman said, “ **_It looks fresh…_ ** ” 

 

They soon heard the sounds of rustling and branches snapping nearby. They looked and saw that there was another entrance of the cave. Ren once again ran ahead of them and he had gotten outside; eventually the others did too. They saw the trees shake and heard booming footsteps sounding too close for comfort. They had soon realized where it was heading when they saw the village of Kuroyuri in the distance.

 

“No…” Ren said as his head shook slightly. 

 

Nora took his hand, as a loud piercing roar was heard. 

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For the Rain TV Sized Performed By Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	16. A Simple Time

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Years Ago; Patch_ ** -

 

On the small island of Patch, in a house made of wood, three young girls had ran along the grassy fields that had been provided; though the smallest one was being carried on another girl’s back. They were playing a simple game of tag, as a young girl with golden hair tied back into pigtails, with lilac purple eyes, ran from a girl with black hair tied back in a small low ponytail with a white ribbon and having a pair of indian red eyes. The little girl with black hair had on a green long sleeved shirt under a pair of demean jean overalls and had a pair of brown shoes. On her back she carried a small girl with short black hair, and the ends that had faded to red and had a pair of silver eyes. The little one with golden laughed as she ran from the two girls. 

 

“You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me~!” The girl with golden hair said in a sing song voice. 

 

“I can too!” The girl with the white ribbon said as she tried to keep up her pace. 

 

“Face it! You won’t be able to run fast enough when you’ve got Ruby on your back!” The golden hair said sticking her tongue out in a teasing way. “I can too Yang!” The girl with the white ribbon said. 

 

The little one, named Ruby, tugged on the girl’s shirt, and started to do signs. She flapped her arms back and forth indicating flight, and the girl seemed to have understood her. “Good idea.” She said softly to Ruby with a smile. She allowed Ruby to climb off of her back, and the girl jumped into the air. In a split second, the girl’s body had turned into a bird, with the white ribbon wrapped around it’s neck. She flew high above the girl named Yang, who had just now noticed that she was nowhere to be seen with her sister.

 

“Hey, where did you go?” She heard Yang say. 

 

The girl soon flew just behind her, and changed back. She tapped Yang on the shoulder, making her jump, “Tag you’re it!” The girl said with a triumphant smile. 

 

Yang flailed her arms as she said, “That’s not fair Melody! You cheated!” 

 

The little girl named Melody simply smiled innocently and said, “Nope, I caught you fair and square, right Ruby?” 

 

“Yeah Yang! Fair and square!” Little Ruby had said. 

 

“Oh yeah?” Yang said, “How about this?”

 

Yang playfully tackled Melody to the ground and started to tickle her, making her laugh. “Ahahaha! Ruby help! I need-- **HAHAHA!** I need help!!” Melody said through her laughter. 

 

“I’ll save you from tickle monster!” Ruby said. She ran over to Yang, and jumped on her back and Yang pretended to be hit. She rolled onto the grass along with Ruby. “Agh! Remember me how I was!” Yang said, as she pretended to play dead. Melody and Ruby laughed at the face she was making as she played dead. Just than they heard a voice come over them, “Lunchtime kids! Come and get it!” 

 

The three of them got up, and ran back to the house, and onto the front porch, where they were met with Taiyang, or as many knew him, as Tai. He had a tray with three plates of sandwiches that were peanut butter and jelly. They sat up on the steps as Tai placed the tray down, and they started happily munch on it. Tai noticed their clothes had been covered in dirt. “What in the world were you girls doing out their?” 

 

“We were playing tag, Uncle Tai!” Melody said, “Than it turned into a tickle fight!” 

 

“Cousin Melody cheated again!” Yang said pointing to her. 

 

“Oh is that so?” Tai said, “How did she?” 

 

“She turned into a bird, and got her from behind!” Ruby said with her mouth full. 

 

“To be fair, the rules don’t say anything about changing into a bird.” Melody said to her cousin, while nudging her with her shoulder. 

 

“I still say it’s cheating!” 

 

“Is not!” 

 

“Is too!” 

 

“Alright, alright you two.” Tai said to his daughter and niece, “Don’t bicker Yang. We’re all family remember? And Melody, I know you like showing off your semblance, but that doesn’t mean you have to use all the time. Next time, play fair with your cousins, okay?” 

 

“Yes dad.” Yang said. 

 

“Okay, Uncle Tai.” Melody said. They both went back to eating their sandwiches. 

 

Soon enough after they finished their plates, a young woman’s had called out, “Melody! Melody sweetie!” 

 

Melody picked up her head and saw a young woman with black hair just like her’s but her eyes were of blue. Her hair had been cut short to a bob style haircut, and she wore an outfit that consisted of a dark green tank top with a gray poncho with the sleeves cut up. She also had on dark blue pants and a pair of black boots. Melody’s expression brightened as did Yang’s and Ruby’s. “Mom!” Melody said as she ran over to her, “Mommy’s here!” 

 

“Aunt Celia!” Yang and Ruby said as they ran behind Melody. 

 

Melody jumped onto the woman named Celia’s, wrapping her arms around her leg, and Yang and Ruby jumped afterwards. Tai approached Celia, “Well, you’re out early.” Tai said, genuinely shocked, “I didn’t expect to see until later.” 

 

“My boss ended up taking early vacation.” Celia said to Tai, “So we ended up closing up earlier than usual.” She gently pushed, her daughter and two nieces out of the hug. She than gave Yang and Ruby a kiss on the forehead before turning to Melody, “Okay, it’s time for us to go home sweetie.” 

 

The three girls couldn’t help but say ‘aww’ at this, “Can’t I stay a little longer mom?” 

 

“You can play with your cousins, tomorrow at the park.” Celia reassured her, “For now it’s time for us to return home. I think your father might be coming back from his mission.” 

 

“Uncle Qrow is coming home?!” Ruby said with excitement

 

“I wanna see him!” Yang said.

 

“You girls can see him tomorrow.” Tai said, “Like your aunt said, we’ll all see each other at the park.” 

 

“Yay!” Yang and Ruby cheered. 

 

“Let’s play hide and seek tomorrow!” Melody said to her cousins. 

 

The two of them nodded their heads and smiled. Melody said her goodbyes to her cousins and uncle and Celia had thanked Tai for taking care of her daughter. With mother and daughter hand in hand, they went down the road, as Melody waved goodbye to them.

* * *

 

- **_Kuroyuri_ ** -

 

The sun was high above the clouds, and the sky was clear as a crystal. All was lively throughout the village of Kuroyuri, and many people were walking around the small yet large village. People had talked to one another, children played games with each other, and many had been running stores, or some people were out hunting in the woods just on the outside of Kuroyuri. A young boy with big pale pink eyes wearing a green, magenta outfit with white pants and black shoes, had been walking by the river provided, and spotted a lilypad. His hair was black and tied back and a single strain of his hair was magenta. Intrigued by the small little flower he kneeled down to take a closer look at it. He couldn’t help but be in awe by the flower as he watched it float across the water in the river. He was about reach for the flower until he heard, a light laughter from someone. 

 

He turned to a woman who had pink eyes, and she had rose hair that was tied back in a bun. She wore a long green dress with cutout sleeves, revealing her shoulders. She wore black ballet flats with a pink sash; Many knew her as An. She gave the young boy a warm smile as she held a basket of bread. “Why hello little Lie.” An said to her son, “Are we trying to catch a fish?” 

 

The young boy by the name of Lie replied, “I’ve found a flower in the water!” 

 

“Oh I see.” An said still with a smile. 

 

Lie stood up and went over to his mother, “Can we take it home and plant it in the garden?” 

 

“Oh, no sweetheart, that flower stays here.” An said to Lie. 

 

Lie had a look of dejection about this. An patted him on the head, “But I’ll tell you what you can do…” An said before taking out a lien card, “Take this Lien and go find something nice for your father’s return. He’s been hunting for quite some time. I bet the journey’s been very tiring don’t you think?” 

 

“Yes.” Lie said before taking the lien card from his mother. 

 

“Do you think he know what he wants?” She asked. 

 

Lie thought about it before replying, “I think… He wants a water flower in the garden!” 

 

An laughed at this, “Why did you have to inherit my sass?” 

 

With a playful nudge, and laughter from her son, she watched as he went towards the markets of the village as to look for a gift for his father. 

 

Little Lie went through the markets of Kuroyuri trying to figure out what to get for his father when he had returned home. He approached one of the many stands, one having weapons. He looked at the many weapons in awe, just amazed of the many battle axes and swords seen. “Excuse me?” He said to the man running the stand; he held the lien card that his mother had given him, “What can I buy with this?” 

 

The Blacksmith chuckled, “Well, something just your size.” The Blacksmith picked up a couple of weapons made of wood, a sword and hammer to be exact. Though Ren couldn’t help but slump over in disappointment. He moved onto the next stand which had belonged to that of a liquor merchant. He went next in line after a man, “Sake please!” He said to the man. The wine merchant looked to Lie, with an amused look, and shook his head to Lie, making him even more disappointed. Seeing as how he was unable to get the sake for his father’s return. He walked along the street, passing the various stores within Kuroyuri as he thought about what to get for his father, though nothing came to mind. 

 

He soon stopped in front of a bakery, that contained many sweets and such, containing even bread that was of a cat, and water lilies that was made with icing and dough. Lie figured that his father, wouldn’t having a sweet or two--

 

“ **HEY! GET BACK HERE!** ” 

 

Lie’s attention was drawn to the sound of yelling from other children. He followed the laughter over to the alleyway, and saw what was going on. Three older boys were picking on a girl around the same age as her. She was covered in dirt and her hair was a short orange color, wearing a shirt that was white and had a heart in the middle. She had on a hoodie, short pants and shoes, and she was covered in dirt from the neck down and eyes were of turquoise. The three boy's were mocking her as she held a loaf of bread close to her chest. 

 

“Where did you get that bread? I didn’t see you pay for it you little thief!” 

 

“No look it’s all moldy!” 

 

“I think she got it from the trash!” 

 

“Lemme see that!” 

 

One of the boy's reached out to grab the loaf of bread that was in her hand. Though she retaliated by biting the boy's finger when he had gotten close to her. The boy cried out in agony, as he pulled his hand back, “ **AH! SHE BIT ME!** ” The three boy's jumped back slightly when this happened, and the tall boy, had shoved the girl to the ground, making her drop the loaf of the bread. She got up and grabbed the bread holding it close to her again as she crouched again. The boy's mocked her again. 

 

“Where did she come from?” 

 

“She’s dressed all weird!” 

 

“I bet she’s abandoned! Like a dog or something!” 

 

“Does that mean I have rabies?” 

 

The three boy's laughed at the young girl, and it wasn’t long before the little girl looked in Lie’s direction. The three boy's noticed this, and turned over to him as well. Lie shrunk when they had looked to him; panicked filled his body as he turned to run. As soon as he did he ran into something and fell on his back letting out a surprised scream. He looked up to see a tall man having black hair tied back in a ponytail with a gray streak and a black moustache and goatee. He wore a sleeveless green tailcoat over a long sleeved white shirt and he wore black pants tucked into open-toe sandals with a black sash around his waist. He had his bows and arrows on his back, and a single sheathed dagger; On his right hand he wore an archer's glove. Many of the people knew him in the village as Li. 

 

“ **_Father…?_ ** _ ”  _ Little Lie had said looking to the man. 

 

Li looked to the scene before him, “What is happening here?” 

 

The three boy's looked scared when Li looked to him. The girl however saw this as her opportunity to run. She stood up and went with her loaf of bread in hand. Soon enough the three boy's stood up and ran away too; Lie stood up from the ground as Li looked to him. 

 

“Do you wish to run with the rest of them?” Li asked him. 

 

Lie didn’t say anything; he just looked to the ground in response. Li kneeled down to his son, and placed his hand on his shoulder, “Sometimes the worst action to take…  **_Is to take no action at all_ ** . Go home. I need to speak with the mayor.” 

 

Li stood up and took his leave, and Lie watched as he went to see the mayor.

* * *

 

- **_Later that Night; Patch_ ** -

 

Though Celia had put Melody to bed, she was still to excited to go to sleep. She had told her, that her father wasn’t coming back until later, she just couldn’t shut her eyes, despite it being so late at night. She passed the time by playing a video game, though she had in on mute so her mother wouldn’t hear her, since she didn’t want to get in trouble and grounded like last time. She finally heard the door open and heard her mother say welcome home to someone. 

 

From that Melody had immediately jumped right out of bed, and opened the door. She quickly and quietly made her way down the stairs. There she saw a familiar man with dark spiked hair talking to her mother; it was none other than the Huntsman Qrow. Her expression brightened at the sight of the man, though she decided to be sneaky. She activated her semblance and turned into a small dog, with the ribbon tied in around her neck like when she turned into a bird. She went down the stairs and towards the dining room, treading softly so that she wasn’t heard. Finally when she was under the table, just by their feet, she let out a small bark. Celia jumped at the sound, but Qrow didn’t seem phased. Just as Melody changed back as she giggled, Qrow looked under the table. 

 

“Well, well, if it isn’t our usual culprit?” Qrow said amusingly, reaching out to the little girl. 

 

“Hi daddy!” Melody said jumping into the man’s arms. Qrow got her out from under tha table and sat her on his lap. “Melody Wren Branwen.” Celia said sounding crossed, “What are you doing up at this hour?” 

 

“I wanted to see daddy.” Melody said. 

 

“You know it’s past your bedtime. It’s not good for you to stay up this late.” Celia said to her. 

 

“Celia, come on you had to see this coming.” Qrow said, “Our little bird has always been like an owl anyway. Isn’t that right?” 

 

Melody simply smiled and nodded at this; Celia couldn’t help but sigh, “I swear Qrow, you’re a bad influence on her.” 

 

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Qrow asked with an innocent look that made Melody giggle. 

 

“How was your mission daddy? Did you get all the bad guys?” Melody asked. 

 

Qrow ruffled her hair a bit, “Of course I got the bad guys. Did you think I’d be here if I didn’t?” 

 

“I bet they were scared when they saw you!” 

 

“Well, I wouldn’t say scared but they certainly--” 

 

Celia cleared her throat stopping Qrow in mid-sentence. He turned to her and gave a shrug, as if to say, “What?” Celia than turned to their daughter, “Why don’t you tell your father about today?” 

 

“Oh yeah!” Melody said, “Yang, Ruby and I were playing tag today. Yang almost got away from me, but I turned into a bird and got her!” Qrow merely scoffed at this, “Seriously? You’ve only just gotten your semblance last week and already your using it to cheat.” 

 

“To be fair, they’re aren’t any rules to tag.” Melody said. 

 

“Melody, remember what your uncle said playing fair.” Celia said.

 

“I know, I know but I can’t help it!” Melody said, “It’s just so cool to have a shape-shifting semblance!” 

 

Qrow couldn’t help but shake his head. Why did she have to inherit some of my traits, he couldn’t help but think. He sighed and said to her, “Wren listen, I know it’s exciting to when your first get your semblance, but you gotta understand, sometimes having a semblance is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Remember you only got this recently, so you have to be careful.” 

 

“But I--” 

 

“Come on, don’t argue. Just don’t use it as much as you do, until you learn more about it, okay?” 

 

Melody looked dejected as she looked up to her dad, “Okay, I won’t.” Qrow patted her on the head, “Atta girl.” 

 

“Okay, now it’s time to put you to bed.” Celia said as she picked up the little one, “And this time you better stay there.” 

 

Melody simply nodded her head, and waved to Qrow, “Goodnight daddy.” She said. 

 

“See you in the morning Wren.” Qrow said to her as he waved back.

* * *

 

All had been quiet throughout the night of Kuroyuri. Everyone had either had been sound asleep or were enjoying the night; enjoying each others company. Lie sleeping in his room enjoying whatever dreams he was having, every now and than, he would turn to his side to get more comfortable, and he would nuzzle his pillow. 

 

However, his eyes had soon shot open, when he he heard a faint roar in the distance; The roar belonging to a Grimm, and the sound of warning bells were heard just outside. 

 

His mother An, soon came into the room. “Lie get up!” She said, “We have to go!” 

 

“Mother?” He said, slowly sitting up, still feeling a little tired, “What’s--” 

 

“No, right now, okay!” An said taking his hand, and pulling him out the door, “Let’s go!” 

 

They both ran into the dining area, about to head out the door, but they were soon met with Li. He came staggering into the house trying to catch his breath. 

 

“Li!” An called out, seeing her husband in his current state. 

 

“An!” Li said, “What are you doing!? We need to hurry!” 

 

“We can go to the safe house.” 

 

“No… I saw the  **_beast_ ** … We need a Huntsman… And you two need to leave…” 

 

“What!?” 

 

The three of them jumped at the sound something getting demolished; their attention was drawn to the sound of it. Lie held his mother’s hand tightly, as fear overtook his body. “Mother…” He said fearfully. An kneeled to her son, and shushed him gently. 

 

“It’s okay darling.” An said, “Everything's oka--”

 

**BAM!**

 

The roof suddenly came crashing down causing the world around Lie turn abruptly to darkness. The only thing he heard was the sound of something roaring and someone screaming. Moments later he heard the sounds of screams of terror and Grimm roaring in the distance. He felt himself being moved at the breeze of the wind hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself being carried by his father Li. He looked around and saw many of its citizens of Kuroyuri fleeing in terror from the Grimm and even saw sparks of fire and ash fell like snowflakes. 

 

He groaned as he looked around the area again, “... Father… Where’s… Where’s mother…?” 

 

Lie’s eyes widened in horror when he looked up to his father. He saw that he was bleeding from the head, and it went over his left eye; panic soon coursed through his body. 

 

“What’s going on!?” He said fearfully, “Where’s mother!?” 

 

Soon enough the ground shook beneath, and Li fell to the ground, dropping Lie. The people that passed Li and Lie, didn’t even stop to help them; they just kept running from the Grimm that had invaded. Lie crawled over to his father, seeing that he was bleeding from his side. “Father! Please get up!” He cried as he shook him. Li pushed himself up, as he groaned with agony. 

 

“Lie…” Li said, “ **_... You have to run…_ ** ” 

 

“No!” Lie said, “No don’t! Please get up!” Lie heard the roars again, and turned behind him. There he saw a shadowy figure of what looked like a large horseman in the cover of smoke. “Listen to me son.” Li said, getting Lie’s attention, “You have to be brave now… Do you understand?” 

 

Lie said to him as he shook his head, “No please! I can’t! I can’t!” 

 

Li took the knife in his holster and unsheathed it. He gave it to his son, “Yes you can!” He said, pushing Lie away from him; Lie looked to the knife that was now in his hand. 

 

“... Take action son…” Li said to him; He stood up from the ground, grasping his side, “... **_Your mother and I love you_ ** …” 

 

“... Father…” 

 

The ground shook again, and the Grimm horseman toward over them. Li got in front of son, arming bow and arrow. “ **RUN! NOW!** ” Li yelled. Without any hesitation, Lie got up and did what his father told and just ran without turning back.

* * *

 

As planned, Celia, Qrow and Melody met up with Tai and his two daughters in the park that resided in Patch. As the parents talked to one another, the kids played on the slides and swings, playing another game of tag like yesterday. Melody chased Ruby and Yang around the playground, trying to catch them both, though they proved to be a challenge. Though there was temptation, to use her semblance she had decided to lay off her shape-shifting abilities for now and play fair. Finally she had playfully tackled them to the ground, and the three of them laughed. 

 

“That’s two to one!” Melody said triumphantly. 

 

“Let’s play again!” Ruby said. 

 

Before they could play again, they heard the sounds of mocking laughter. They drew their attention towards a couple of bullies picking smaller children around Ruby’s age. They were holding a toy that belonged that of a child, and dangled them like a carrot. She was a Fanus, with  **_a scorpion’s tail_ ** ,  “Give it back!” One of the little ons said. 

 

“No, this toy isn’t yours to play with you little roach!” One of the older children said. 

 

“It is too!” The small child said, “Please give it back!” 

 

“What are you going to do, cry?” The older said mockingly. 

 

“ **HEY!** ” Melody called out to the bullies. They turned to her as she stepped forward, “You heard her. Give it back.” 

 

“Yeah! Give the toy back!” Yang said. 

 

“Just what are you two going to about it?” The second bully said, “We’re bigger than you two!” 

 

Melody held out her hand to the bullies, “Kindly return what belongs to her.” 

 

“Don’t tell us what to do little girl.” The bully said. 

 

“You won’t be able to do anything against us!” The other bully said. 

 

The bullies merely laughed at this, before they were taken by surprise when Melody suddenly pushed him to the ground roughly; Yang and Ruby couldn’t help but snicker at the look on their faces. The doll had been dropped by the bully and Melody picked it up, before handing it back to the child. “Here you go.” Melody said with a smile, “Make sure you don’t lose it okay?” 

 

The child nodded and said with a smile, “Thank you.”

 

“Eliza! Come now, we’re going home!” They heard her mother shout. 

 

“Coming mom!” The child named Eliza said. She waved goodbye to Melody before she left with her mother. “That was amazing Melody!” Little Ruby said. 

 

“The looks on their faces was priceless!” Yang said in between laughs. 

 

The bully got up from the ground, “Let’s see how you like it!” The bully said. He charged over at them, but shoved Yang and Ruby to the ground, taking Melody by surprise. Yang merely groaned from the pain, but Ruby on the other hand started crying. “Eat dirt you babies!” The bully said, and the others started laughing. 

 

Melody looked to her cousin Ruby who was still crying. Yang went to comfort her; she picked up Ruby and took her over to Tai. Melody just stood there frozen, just stunned by what they did. Though seeing the way Ruby cried, she felt something inside her just click. The world become blocked out to her, and she felt her blood go cold, and her hand shaking slightly. 

 

The bullies laughed and mocked at her, “What’s wrong, got nothing to say now little girl?” 

 

“Shut up…” She said softly. 

 

“What was that?” The second bully said. 

 

“... I said…” Melody said softly before turning to the bullies, “ **_SHUT UP._ ** ” 

 

The minute she turned to them, the bullies suddenly flinched out of fear; Her eyes were black and her pupils were narrow, and she bared fangs, sharp fangs. “You  **_WILL_ ** pay…” Melody said, glaring at them; the bullies backed up and shook out of fear, “...  **YOU’LL PAY FOR MAKING HER CRY!** ” Baring her fangs she rushed at the bullies, letting out a piercing shriek, and the bullies and other children screamed out of fear at what Melody did next; The ground was soon painted with red before anyone knew what happened.

* * *

 

Lie ran through the streets far from the Grimm, and far from the beast that his father had stayed behind and fought. He soon reached the bridge, and jumped below on the sideways, and took the time to catch his breath. He looked to the skies and saw several Nevermores fly up in the sky through the night; he looked to them fearfully. He soon heard the sound of someone crying nearby. Underneath a building nearby he saw it was that same little girl covered in dirt, that was getting picked on was cowering beneath. She had her arms around herself and shook with fear, as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

 

Lie saw the Nevermore land on top of the building just where the little girl was, and let out a shriek. Lie had soon heard the sound of a familiar roar. It was the beast that his father had seen. His eyes widened in realization when he came to the conclusion about what became of his father. He started to cry when he came to realize, that he was all alone. 

 

He lost everything, and everyone he loved, all gone within a single night. All the memories of him and his parents replayed in his head, as the thought and realization replayed in his head that they were really gone. He couldn’t do this on his own. He couldn’t be strong, he couldn’t be like his father, no, he couldn’t be.

 

“ **_Sometimes the worst action, is to take no action at all…_ ** ” 

 

Lie suddenly felt all his fear, all of his sadness get swept away, as a light shimmer gone around his body. The color on his body for a moment, seemed to have just disappeared. He felt calmer, more relaxed than he was before; he looked to the sky and saw that despite him feeling scared earlier, the Grimm weren’t coming to attack him. After taking a deep breath, he climbed up from the sideway and ran to where the girl was. He slid beneath the building and approached the young girl. 

 

“Hey.” He said, getting the girl’s attention, “ **_We have to be brave_ ** .” 

 

The Nevermore started to crawl down the building, following the fear it felt from the girl next to Lie. The girl turned Lie, still shaking with fear. Lie froze up slightly when the girl threw her arms around him, though he hugged back. The shimmer went through his body again but this time it had extended to her, turning their bodies gray. The cries and shivers from the girl just seemed to have vanished when this happened. The Nevermore hung from the building, tilting it’s head slightly as if it was confused by something. After a moment, the Nevermore stood up and let out screech before flying away. 

 

As they had gotten their color back, the beast like creature stepped nearby where they were; stopping for a moment. The two children looked to the strange beast, before it had simply walked away, disappearing into the night. 

 

“... I’m scared…” The little girl said to Lie. 

 

“... Me too.” Lie said to her. 

 

Lie turned back to the road and saw a wooden hammer just nearby. He was about to go and retrieve it but the little girl tugged on his arm. He turned to look at her, and saw that she was still afraid. 

 

“It’s okay…” He reassured her. 

 

The girl was hesitant but had let go of his arm. He crawled out from their hiding place to retrieve the wooden hammer, before returning to the girl’s side. “We’ll keep each other safe.” He said handing the hammer over to her. The little girl looked at the hammer with awe, before taking it from him, holding it close to her chest. 

 

“What’s your name?” He asked. 

 

The girl turned to him and smiled, “...  **_Nora_ ** …” 

 

Lie smiled back to the girl named Nora, “...  **_My name is Lie Ren_ ** .”

* * *

 

Qrow nor Tai didn’t know what happened exactly. One minute Yang was telling them about the bullies that had pushed Ruby, the next minute they heard Celia scream in terror as did the other parents at what had happened to the bullies. Just as it was quick to end, they saw Melody run in tears, and one of the children on the ground bleeding like crazy. In the scuffle they were quick to realize that Melody had ran off before anyone knew what happened. As Tai went to see what happened exactly, with Celia watching the kids, Qrow ran through the forest to see exactly where Melody ran off too. 

 

He pushed through the branches and looked in the various bushes that he came across. When he finally looked in one of the other many bushes, he found a familiar white ribbon caught in one of the branches and twigs. He recognized the white ribbon as a gift from her mother, and that it must’ve have been torn off when Melody was running. He stood up holding the ribbon in his hand. 

 

“ **MELODY!** ” Qrow called out, “ **MELODY! WHERE ARE YOU!?** ”

 

Soon enough he noticed a trail of blood in the grass; he could tell from the looks of it, it was a fresh trail. “Melody…” He said softly. He soon heard the sound of a small scream in the distance soon after he heard a voice. 

 

“ **MOMMY! DADDY!** ”

 

Qrow ran in the direction of the sounds. He pushed through the branches and jumped over the bushes following the trail of blood. Soon enough he came to a rock wall, where he found a familiar girl with raven black hair cornered by three beowolves; one of them being an alpha. 

 

“ **GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE PLEASE!!** ” The child said fearfully, as the beowolves towered over the poor girl. 

 

Qrow immediately drew his weapon and charged at the beowolves, “ **GET AWAY FROM HER!** ” He yelled as he swung his blade at them. He sliced a beowolf in two, drawing the attention of the other two. They went after Qrow, trying to attack him; he was able to dodge with ease despite the beowolves swinging their claws at him. With swiftness he was able to defeat the two beowolves, slicing their bodies up in two. They soon vanished without a trace, like all Grimm do; he caught his breath and placed his sword back in it’s holster. He soon turned to the crying child. 

 

“Melody… Wren!” He said going over to her, “Are you okay?” 

 

Melody looked to her father, and Qrow’s eyes widened slightly. Blood was seen on her mouth and face and red had been stained on her shirt. Most of the blood had washed off due to the tears she had shed. “I’m sorry…” Melody said crying; her teeth was stained with red as well, “I’m sorry daddy… I didn’t mean too… I didn’t mean to hurt him… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” 

 

Qrow looked over at her appearance and even noticed that her nails and fingers had been stained with blood as well. He knew for certain that the blood didn’t belong to her, since he didn’t see her hurt anywhere. The blood… Could it be…?

 

“I’m sorry daddy… I’m so sorry… I didn’t want to hurt him… I didn’t want to but I did… Please, please believe me…” Melody said to him, taking his sleeve, staining it with blood. Qrow looked to Melody, but soon let out a sigh; slowly not wanting to scare her he put the arms around her, holding her close. He shushed her as he brushed her hair. 

 

“Don’t cry Wren…” He said to her softly, “... It’s alright… It’s alright…” 

 

“... You’re not…” Melody said as she wiped her tears, “... You’re not mad…?” 

 

Qrow simply shook his head and said, “... You had me worried sick, when you ran off like that… And I know, that whatever you did, you didn’t mean it…” Melody just leaned into her dad's embrace, as she continued to cry and kept saying that she was sorry, they both stayed like this for awhile. Soon after everything had calmed down, Melody had grown tired and fallen asleep in his arms. He soon had gotten a text from Tai, asking about Melody. He of course replied saying that he had found her; he placed the scroll in his pocket before looking down to the little girl again. 

 

“Let’s get you home kid…”

 

He picked up Melody and made his way back home, on the small island of Patch. 

  
( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For the Rain TV Sized Performed by Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	17. Who is in Control?

- ** _Three Years Ago; Vale Apartment 3G_ ** -

 

 _“_ **_... Can’t keep her in the dark forever. You have to tell her._ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_She’s still just a kid Neo! She can’t know, about it, not just yet._ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_And what happens if she does find out herself? What will happen than?”_ **

 

 _“_ **_I’ll figure out how deal with it…”_ **

 

**_“You don’t know when that will be! By than it’s going to be too late!”_ **

 

_The sun leaked through the window of the small room, and had hit Destiny’s face. She let out a groan as she slowly started to come to. The sound of familiar voices rang through her ears as she slowly sat up, and she found familiar surroundings around her, from the small desk to her room, to the IV drip stand that had been beside her bed. Her head hurt slightly and she still felt drowsy and strangely warm. She coughed slightly only having confirming her theory, that she had caught another cold. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned slightly, before turning to the door that had been slightly open. She saw her father and Neo, arguing about something, and she couldn’t help but tilt her head curiously as she wondered what they were arguing about._

 

_“... Daddy?... Neo…?”  She said with a somewhat hoarse voice._

 

_The two of them stopped their arguing and turned into the room. They both stepped inside, and saw Destiny had finally woken up. “Hey there Princess.” Roman said going at her bedside, “How are you feeling?”_

 

_Destiny let out a couple of coughs before replying, “... I don’t feel so good.”_

 

_Roman placed his chin against Destiny’s forehead, and felt how warm it was. “You’re burning up with a fever.”_

 

_“How do you feel?” Neo asked, “Do you have headaches or anything?”_

 

_Destiny shook her head drowsily, putting her head against the pillow, “... I feel really light headed. Why is the room spinning?” Destiny had coughed again, this time it sounded more horsely and Roman patted her on the back. “Don’t worry with some rest, you’ll be all better within a few days.”_

 

_“I’ll go look for some medicine to help out.” Neo said._

 

_"I think their should be some left in the cupboard.” Roman said to her. Neo nodded and went to go get the medicine that they needed. Destiny reached out to her father, and tugged on his sleeve getting his attention. “What is it?” He asked her, “Do you need something?”_

 

_Destiny had replied groaning slightly, “... Wha… What happened last night…?”_

 

_Roman gave a confused look at this, “Don’t you remember?”_

 

_Destiny had soon replied, “... I remember… We were going out to eat… We ate dinner at a restaurant, and got ice cream on the way back… I think we were planning, on a movie… And I… I can’t remember the rest…  It’s kind of a blur…”_

 

_Destiny groaned slightly when she felt her head hurt, trying to remember. She didn’t notice that Roman had sighed with relief before giving her a hug. “Try not to think about too much alright?” Roman said to her, as he brushed her hair soothingly to comfort her; all she did was let out a groan in response to what he said._

 

_They soon heard Neo down the hall, “Can you help me out? I can’t find the medicine anywhere.”_

 

_“Alright I’m coming.” Roman said, before turning back to her, “Get some sleep alright?”_

 

_Destiny nodded her head slightly, as she moaned with agony; Roman soon went out of the room and shut the door behind him. Cristal herself had stood behind the door, leaning back against the wall. “Well…” Cristal said pushing herself off the wall, “... From what I can tell there must’ve been some kind of excitement last night.”_

 

_Destiny let out a groan and turned on her side. Cristal gave a sort of a pouty look, and went over to sit at her bedside. “Geez, I take it that you have a pretty bad fever huh?”_

 

_All Destiny did was nod her head at this, and didn’t even bother to say anything. Cristal pulled her knee close to her chest, “Well… Is there anything I can do for you? Like something to help you in anyway?”_

 

_Destiny turned her head slightly over to her before saying with a groan, “... Story…”_

 

_“Oh, a story? You want me to tell you a story?”  She asked her._

 

_Destiny nodded her head and said, “Help me, sleep…”_

 

_“Okay, what kind of a story do you want me to tell you? Something from your book perhaps?”_

 

_“... No… A story you know…”_

 

_“A story I know… Interesting request, but I’ll give it a shot.”_

 

_“Thank you…” Destiny said letting out another groan._

 

_Cristal rubbed underneath her chin as to think about what exactly to tell to Destiny. She thought long and hard about a story until one came in her head. “I’ve got a legend that you might like to hear. Would you like me tell you?” Destiny simply nodded her head, and allowed her head to sink deeper into the pillows. Cristal placed her favorite bear beside Destiny and the child happily hugged it. She than made herself comfortable before putting her hands together._

 

_She soon began the story after clearing her throat, “Long ago, before the Kingdoms, before there was Huntsman and Huntresses, there was a young girl, who wanted to become a warrior like her brothers; Her name being Amra Whitefeather. She had always idolized her brothers and father for how valiantly they fought, though, back in those days women weren’t allowed to fight. Though despite her traditions, Amra had secretly trained outside in the forest near where she lived everyday, despite the pleas from her brothers on how dangerous it was. But one day while training in the forest she found a small butterfly in an unusual color, caught in a spiders web. She had looked to the butterfly curiously, having never seen the color of it before. She felt pity for the small creature and had decided to help it out of the tangles of its web, before the spider made it it's dinner; She watched as it took to the sky, happy and free from the webs clutches and letting the wind take it’s wings to wherever it so desired. Suddenly Amra, heard a voice she did not recognize, echo through the trees and wind. She was soon quick to realize it had been from the small butterfly before her, which she found odd, yet extraordinary. The small butterfly had thanked the young girl for saving its life, and said it had sensed something special from her; Something that not even her parents didn’t see when she was born. From just looking at the girl before it, it knew that Amara’s fate was not to be a warrior, but an ally to the ones with Silver Eyes. In gratitude for saving the small butterflies life, it had given Amra a special gift that would benefit mankind and fanus alike. This power was said to be lost after the Great War, but some say the power still exists, and it waits for many centuries to come, till it…”_

 

 _Cristal’s words soon trailed off when she saw Destiny was sound asleep. Cristal let out a sigh and fixed up the covers pulling it over her small body. Cristal kneeled down on the floor still by her bedside, and patted her on the head. “... You really can’t remember from what happened last night can’t you?” She said knowing that she couldn’t hear her, “I’ll admit, I saw what happened, and even I’m not sure what it was you did exactly…_ **_This will be something worth looking into…_ ** _”_

 

_When she heard Roman and Neo coming back, Cristal slowly and quietly made her way to the window and crawled out making her way down the fire escape. When she got onto the sidewalk, she glanced over to Destiny’s room window, before she made her way out onto the streets of Vale._

* * *

 ( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Present; Somewhere in Remnant_ ** -

 

Fire lit up a dimly lit room filled with dark stones and around the room there were candles all lit up providing the only light. Cinder had taken deep breaths after having turned to a Beowolf to ash with great difficulty due to her condition. At least four Beowolves surrounded her, ready to attack her. They jumped at her all at once but, with one swing from her arm, all four of the Beowolves turned to ash; once again, Cinder had caught her breath once more, trying to prevent herself from passing out. The sound of heavy footsteps were heard, and Cinder jumped slightly when she saw a Beringel coming towards her. As it charged at her, the fire appeared from hand and just attacked the Beringel head on, letting it disintegrate.

 

Finally, Cinder felt her legs give out, and she fell to the ground, panting heavily.

 

“Enough.”

 

Salem had stepped forward having watched her as Cinder took out the creatures of Grimm; Cinder turned to her slightly.

 

“I thought you were the girl who wanted power.” Salem said to Cinder, “Did you lie to me?”

 

Cinder turned to her and shook her head in reply, still not having the ability to speak.

 

“Than stop holding back.” Salem said, “If you wish to master your new powers, you must--”

 

Salem had been cut off when the doors at the far end of the room opened suddenly causing their attention to be drawn towards it. The sound of footsteps were heard followed by the sound of someone sobbing. It was revealed to be Tyrian and Diamond who had returned from their assignment. Cinder soon took notice that the stinger at the end of his tail was missing and bandages were wrapped around Diamond’s shoulder and a faded bruise was seen on her right cheek. Though Cinder was perplexed to see that the Pyrrha look alike, Elise was nowhere to be seen. She was sure she went with them, when they were given their task. Was she killed, Cinder thought.

 

Tyrian fell to his knees and Diamond quickly ran to his side, with a look of worry on her face; she placed her hand on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry…” Tyrian said before bowing his head, “She’ll forgive me… Please… Forgive me…”

 

“Tyrian, Diamond.” Salem said making the both of them flinch; Tyrian sat up, but was still on his knees.

 

“Your task.” She said, “Were you successful?”

 

Tyrian looked over at Salem, but replied as he turned his head to the ground, “... N-no…”

 

Salem’s eyes widened slightly but had said nothing to this. She than turned over to Diamond, “I can’t help but notice that your sister Elise is not with the both of you. Where is she?”

 

Diamond immediately stood up and bowed her head to her, “She’s resting in our room. She received most of the injuries out of the two of us. There’s… There’s something else… That happened while we were out there… She just…”

 

Salem gave a quizzical look but it didn’t understand her words when she started to mumble her words as she played with her hair slightly. “Speak up child.” Salem said in a calm, yet authoritative tone making Diamond flinch. She stopped playing with her hair and took a deep breath; she soon stood up straight.

 

She started to explain what had happened, “Elise… She attacked me and Tyrian without warning or reason. She used lighting, water, and weapons made from ice to do so. When I tried to get her to stop, she wasn’t listening to me. She didn’t even recognize me or Tyrian. We managed to subdue her with great difficulty, but she hasn’t woken up since.”

 

“Did she use Dust to do those things?” Salem asked her.

 

Diamond shook her head, “She had gotten the lighting and water from a storm she made herself, and she used the water to make the ice weapons.” Diamond had gestured over to Cinder, “It was like how she uses fire but it seemed… **_Different_ **. I’m afraid I don’t know how else to describe what we witnessed. But that’s not all my lady.”

 

“... Go on.”

 

“Elise keeps saying things in her sleep; things that don’t make sense. She said she feels something burning, hears voices, and that she’s in pain; She wants it all to stop. She even begged for someone to kill her since she claims she can no longer take it… **_It was like before when she first emerged, from the Abyss_ ** _…_ ”

 

Salem had once again say nothing to this; She put her hands behind her back and proceeded to make her way out of the room. Tyrian soon said, “Please my lady! Hope is not lost! My tail! My stinger! I poisoned them! Qrow! The girl’s father, Roman! They will not be a nuisance to you any longer! No, no longer, I’ve done that! Have I done well? Have I pleased you?”

 

Salem stopped in her tracks before turning slightly over to Tyrian, “... The last eye is blinded… **_You disappoint me…_ ** ”

 

With that being said Salem continued down the darkened hallway leaving Cinder, Diamond, and Tyrian the only ones in the room leaving silence between the three of them. The dead silence was soon broken, when Tyrian started to let out horrific wails, burying his face in his hands. This had soon drew the attention of a single Beowolf that had been left standing in the room; Cinder and Diamond noticed this as it had jumped towards him.

 

“ **TYRIAN! WAT--!** ”

 

Suddenly, Tyrian batted the Beowolf out of the air, with his dismembered tail cutting Diamond off and making her stop in her tracks when she was about to run over to him. The Beowolf landed on the other side of the room; as he wailed, he armed his weapons, and jumped on top of the creature of Grimm. With tears falling from his face, he started to stab the Beowolf, with brute and aggressive force, making the creature out in pain and agony. Despite the creature of Grimm having gone limp, Tyrian still attacked the creature of Grimm as he cried. At one point he smiled through his tears and even laughed psychotically, letting his tongue stick out from his mouth.

 

“Stop it…” Diamond said before yelling, “ **STOP IT!** ”

 

She ran over to Tyrian, and grabbed one of his arms; Tyrian didn’t even register this as he continued to attacked the now dead Beowolf. Cinder watched as Diamond struggled to pull him off, but had no such luck; He just kept attacking it, blocking out everything around him.

 

“ **TYRIAN THAT’S ENOUGH!** ” Diamond yelled as she tried to pull him off, “ **IT’S ALREADY DEAD! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO STOP BEFORE YOU--AAHH!** ”

 

Tyrian suddenly hit Diamond across the face, causing her to fly a short distance and hit the ground hard; Cinder cringed slightly when she hit the stone cold floor. Tyrian’s laughter came to a sudden halt and dead silence filled the room once more. Diamond slowly sat up and blood showing a faint color of black in the red color ran down her cheek, staining the floor. There as Tyrian stood up, when the Beowolf disappeared, he saw a deep cut just across the cheek, nearly touching her the corner of her left eye. She pressed her hand against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Tyrian looked at his blade and saw a small amount of her blood drip from the tip of his blade.

 

“I’m--I’m sorry!” He started to say through his tears as he bowed his head again, “I-I’m sorry! Forgive me! Forgive me please!”

 

Tyrian just kept repeating the same words as he cried, his tail curling ever so slightly. Diamond looked to Tyrian, her eyes filled with sympathy and worry, before she stood up from the ground. She started to approach him, her feet treading softly as not to straddle him. “H-Hey, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt to bad, I’m fine, really.” Diamond said to the Fanus with a gentle voice.

 

“No, no, no…” Tyrian said pushing himself off the ground avoiding eye contact, “It’s not, it’s not… I’m sorry Diamond, I’m sorry Elise… Forgive me… Please forgive me…”

 

The cries continued as his words started to trail off; he buried his face in his hands as his body shook back and forth slightly. Diamond slowly kneeled in front of him, and placed her arms around him. She brushed her fingers through his hair, as parent would to a crying child, in an attempt to comfort him. He didn’t react nor did he attempt to return the hug, he just allowed himself to lean into the girl’s embrace as she comforted him.

 

Diamond shushed him gently, “It’s okay… It’s okay… Just listen…”

 

Cinder stood there silently at the far end of the room, shocked and paralyzed with fear over what had just happened; nothing was said, all that was heard was the sound of Tyrian’s sobs. She soon heard Diamond hum a soft melody in Tyrian’s ear, a simple lullaby from what she could tell, and it had bounced off the walls filling the void once more.

* * *

 

- **_Patch; Late at Night_ ** -

 

Yang at this point seemed to be hypnotized by Angel’s silver eyes. She thought what she heard or at the very least seen was crazy before, but now this--Well she didn’t know what to call this now. First she encounter a young girl who can talk to and calm Grimm, than he told her that she was speaking through the Grimm and now this. She could almost swear that she was still in a dream right now. There was silence between the two young teens, as Angel put back on his golden contacts.

 

Yang soon said breaking the silence, “... I thought…This whole time, I thought Ruby was the only one who had them…”

 

“I can see why you would think that.” Angel said to her, “And I don’t blame you at all for having that thought. My father told me, that it was rare for someone to be born with silver eyes.”

 

Yang tilted her head slightly at this, “Rare? What do you mean rare?”

 

Angel looked to Yang before saying, “If I tell you, promise me, that you won’t say this to anyone. Not even Tai.”

 

Yang nodded her head to him, “Of course. I won’t say a word. Now tell me, what do you mean by rare?”

 

Angel soon nodded, before replying, “Well, even I’m not sure about the Silver Eyes, all I know is the stories about them. Back when there wasn’t kingdoms or Huntsman and Huntress, those that have silver eyes were said to follow the path of the warrior. I remember the stories that my father told me about them. They were the only known people to strike fear into the Grimm themselves.”

 

“Okay, I find that hard to believe.” Yang said, “A Grimm can’t get scared, people get scared of them.”

 

“True, but… The Silver Eyed warriors were the only ones that did.” Angel said, “I remember how fascinated I was when I was a kid, and I always thought that I was lucky to inherit the silver eyes from them. But I was scared too.”

 

“Scared?”

 

“You remember when I told you, that I was scared of something? So scared that I couldn’t sleep?”

 

Yang nodded her head, recalling to that moment when Angel and her father were giving her the pep talk she needed, when she told them why she didn’t put on her new arm. “It was my own eyes that I was afraid of.” Angel said, surprising her.

 

“Your eyes?” Yang asked, “Why, were you afraid of them?”

 

“Because of my father's words.” Angel said, “He said with every great thing in world, comes bad things too. He said, that there some people that know about the Silver Eyes, and it’s because of that, they’re scared of people like me. There were times where people were actually sent to kill me and if it hadn’t been for my father, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. Because of that I was afraid of my own eyes, and instead of learning more about them, I chose to ignore them and pretend they never existed to begin with. Most of my nights I stayed up so late, and at one point I drove myself crazy thinking about it. So when my father got fed up about it, he took me by the shoulders, looked me right in the eye and said, you can do two things--”

 

“You can either let your fear consume you, or you can learn to conquer it…” Yang finished for him, “That’s the same you said to me.”

 

Angel let out a small smirk, “... Yeah I guess so. After my father’s passing, I searched for many things about the Silver Eyes, to learn more about it. It’s why I wanted Ozpin in the first place after I heard he went missing. My father said he knew a lot of things, including the Silver Eyes. He said, if I ever wanted to ask him anything, I should go and talk to him in person.”

 

“And I’m guessing that’s why you wanted to talk to Ru--” Yang said before stopping herself when she realized something, “Wait a minute… You said that people tried to kill you because of your Silver Eyes. Since Ruby… My own sister has Silver Eyes like you… Could these people, that tried to kill you, are out to get her too?”

 

Angel rubbed underneath his chin, thinking to himself, “Well, I don’t know about the same people. The most I can think of are the enemies of my father, that knew about my eyes from the story. But not to scare you or anything I suppose it could be, but, like I said, the ones that knew about were my father's old enemies, former bandits, Huntsman and Huntresses mostly.”

 

Angel saw the look on her face, and saw the look in her eye; he saw that she was scared and worried for her sister at the same time. Angel placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting matter, “But… It is very much impossible. Besides my father said that the many people in Remnant know about the Silver Eyes, so it’s highly unlikely that anyone would target your sister for something like that.”

 

“You really think so?” Yang asked.

 

Angel smiled reassuringly before replying, “I know so.”

 

Zwei let a small bark and the two turn to him, before giving him an affectionate pat on the head. “We should head back inside.” Angel said, “It’s late and it’s about time we hit the hay.”

 

“Yeah, I guess your right.” Yang said.

 

They both stood up from the front porch and headed inside and up the stairs of the house. Just when Angel was about to go to his guest room--

 

“Hey Angel?”

 

The young teen turned to her, “Hmm? What is it?”

 

Yang soon said, playing with the beaded bracelet that was around the wrist of her robotic arm, “I’ve been thinking lately, and now that I’m able to fight again… I’m planning on going away. And I know you have your own reasons for wanting to leave here right away once you’ve fully healed, but I’m just wondering… Do you want to come with me?”

 

“Go with you?” Angel asked, “To where?

 

“... I’m not sure yet. I know I promised myself that I would find Destiny, but there are somethings I want to figure out too,” Yang said, “That and… You’ve been traveling most of your life, not to mention that you spent most of your days alone since your dad. I just figured… Well, you can use **_a friend_ ** on your travels.”

 

Angels eyes widened slightly as he looked to her, surprised to hear this from her. Yang noticed and gave a quizzical look, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

Angel replied, “Nothing, it’s just… A few weeks ago, you didn’t even consider me a friend, when I first arrived here. I’m just, surprised really.”

 

Yang shrugged and crossed her arms, smiling back to him, “You did something that I honestly think I needed. You helped me rebuild my confidence with what you said back than. My dad helped me too sure, but let’s face it, you deserve some of the credit for helping me as well. Why wouldn’t I consider you a friend after all that you’ve done?”

 

Angel smiled and laughed slightly running his hand through his hair, “An actual friend… Honestly I haven’t had a friend in a long time, so…” Angel shrugged before saying, “... You know what? What the heck? I’ll take you up on your offer. Wherever you decide to go, I’ll follow, since that’s what friends do right?”

 

Yang gave him a thumbs up, “You got that right. I’ll even help you out in combat along  the way, since your so rusty.”

 

“Oh haha your hilarious.” Angel said with sarcasm, before they both shared a laugh, “Anyway, good night.” He said before walking down the hall.

 

“Good night.” Yang said, going into her room. Both teens had gone to bed, both had been left completely unaware that Tai, who had been still awake had listened to their conversation.

* * *

 - ** _Atlas; Schnee Mansion_ ** -

 

Soon after Weiss had mastered her summoning, she had made plans to meet with her sister down in Mistral. She had be home for eight months, and sometime had passed since she had her conversation with her father and had been placed under house arrest, but she knew for a fact she couldn’t live this life anymore. She refused to live it in fact! She had plans to leave her home that night with the help of the only person she could trust, Klein. She even planned to take her sisters with her, since, they were both still children, and she didn’t want them to go through what she had gone through as a little girl.

 

After Weiss made sure, she had everything she needed, she picked up her weapon and closed the suitcase. She opened the door slightly and looked around the hall. When she was sure no one was around, she stepped out of her room and shut the door behind her. She silently made her way towards a room just down the hall, which belonged to the twins. She looked around again before knocking on the door.

 

“Van? Nilla?” Weiss whispered, “Are you both ready?”

 

The door soon opened, and the twins peeked out the door; they stepped outside revealing bags on their backs and having a bag of marbles attached to their sides with pins. “We’re ready sister.” Van said.

 

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.” Nilla said.

 

“Me too.” Weiss said, “Are you sure you two want to do this? We might not be able to come back home if we leave.”

 

Van and Nilla turned to one another, and took each others hands before turning to Weiss. “We’ve always been sure.” Van said.

 

“We’ll always follow sister.” Nilla said.

 

Weiss smiled and turned to lead the way but was startled and gasped slightly when Klein and Azure were suddenly in front of them. He put a finger between his lips and shushed them. “Let’s go.” He whispered. He lead the three of them down the hallway, towards their destination of the mansion. While going through the various hallways and such, Weiss turned to Azure.

 

“I’m actually surprised that you wanted to come with us.” Weiss whispered, “Is it alright if I ask why?”

 

“... My job is already done here.” Azure replied without even turning to her, “And one of my sisters is with an **_associate_ ** of my mothers in Mistral. I’ve been away long enough and it’s about time I return to her.”

 

“No offense but couldn’t you leave here through an airship you came on?”

 

“I’m afraid not. The business I was on was actually not with your father, but something else. That and I didn’t come here on an airship.”

 

Weiss gave a questiongy look to her, “Something else?” Weiss asked her, “What do you mean?”

 

Azure had given an immediate answer, “I’m afraid I can’t say. It’s classified. I was never meant to stay here long anyway.”

 

“So wait… Are you some kind of an agent?” Weiss asked her.

 

Azure finally turned to her and let out a small smile, “... **_Something like that_ **.”

 

The small group stopped in there tracks when they heard a faint ringing sound. It wasn’t from any of the girl’s scroll but from the butler, Klein’s. He took the scroll out of his pocket and they caught a glimpse of the caller ID and saw that it was Whitely.

 

Klein took the call from Whitely while the girls stood there silently.

 

“Master Whitely I--” Klein said before pausing for a moment, when Whitley spoke, “... I um… Yes of course. I’ll just be a moment.”

 

Klein hung up before turning to Weiss; he whispered, “Head to the first floor library, I’ll meet you there.”

 

Weiss nodded and Klein went down the hall to do whatever Whitely needed him to do. She turned to her sisters, “Stay close to me and stay quiet. We don’t want anyone hearing us.”

 

“Okay.” The twins whispered.

 

Weiss started to lead the way; the twins and Azure followed behind her. Just when they entered the next hallway--

 

“ _You need to control yourself!_ ”

 

“ _You’re talking to me about control?! Do you even hear what you’re saying!?_ ”

 

They heard yelling from Jacques office, no doubt being Jacques and Ironwood themselves. She coaxed the twins to the right side of the door with her, and Azure went to the opposite side of the door. The three of them stood perfectly still and stayed quiet; They overheard the conversation between them.

 

“ _I am basing everything on my report from_ **_YOUR_ ** _daughter!_ ” They heard Ironwood say.

 

“ _A daughter you stole!_ ” They heard Jacques yell back.

 

“ _Oh we’re not getting into that again!_ ”

 

“ _Oh yes, we have far more pressing manners to discuss, starting with you’re apparent lunacy!_ ”

 

“ _Jacques!_ ”

 

They heard Ironwood let out a sigh, in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Unbeknownst to Weiss or the twins, Azure and removed a scroll colored in black from her skirt pocket and placed it against the door, using her hand to cover it. The captions read on the scroll, “ **_Recording begin._ ** ” It started to record the conversation between Ironwood and Jacques.

 

They soon heard Ironwood speak again, “ _Winter is one of my best. If she’s telling me there’s a threat in Mistral then I’m not going to take that news lightly. She’s been there for weeks, people are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play and I do not trust Leo to stop them._ ”

 

“ _You never trusted anyone but yourself!_ ” Jacques said.

 

“ **_AND FOR GOOD REASON!_ ** ” Ironwood yelled. What was heard afterwards was a sudden bang. Weiss placed her hand over mouth prevent herself from gasping, Azure flinched at the sound, and Van and Nilla covered each others mouths, to prevent one another from letting out a gasp like their sister.

 

“ _If Oz had just listened to me from the start…_ ” Ironwood said, the sound of guilt being heard in his voice.

 

“ _You need to get a grip._ ” They heard Jacques say to Ironwood.

 

“ _That’s exactly what I’m doing._ ” Ironwood said, “ _Our people need protection. By this time next week…_ **_Atlas will be officially closing its borders_ ** _. No one in. No one out. Not without the council's permission._ ”

 

The silently gasped at this, Weiss especially was surprised. Seal off the kingdom from the rest of the world? It was definitely the best idea to do, and for Ironwood to decide that, right on the spot. Now there really was no turning back for herself and her sisters.

 

“ _You mean without_ **_YOUR_ ** _permission._ ” Jacques said.

 

“ _And if that’s the case…_ ” Ironwood said, “ **_... I would think you’d want to stay on my good side._ ** ”

 

As Azure stopped the recording, took her scroll and put it back in her pocket, they heard footsteps coming towards the door. “Oh no!” Nilla whispered, “If Ironwood sees us, we’ll get caught!”

 

“What do we do!?” Van whispered.

 

“We’ll be caught either way.” Azure whispered before saying to Weiss, “We have to buy time.”

 

Weiss nodded to Azure; She acted fast and moved away from the door. Using her Myrtenaster she casted a black glyph around the doorknob; They heard Ironwood attempting to open the door but had no such luck since the glyph was around the doorknob. It wasn’t before they heard Ironwood shoulder charging the door.

 

“It won’t hold for long.” Weiss said to them, “Let’s go!”

 

They nodded their heads and they followed Weiss again, this time they picked up the pace as they hurried to the library. In a short time they managed to get there without running into any trouble, but when they arrived, they saw that a certain someone was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Where’s Klein?” Van asked worriedly, “Didn’t he say he’d be here?”

 

“Perhaps he’s late?” Azure asked.

 

“No, Klein is never late for anything.” Nilla said.

 

Weiss looked around the library, “Klein!” She called out with a low voice, “Klein, where are you?”

 

The three of them looked around the library for the butler, but no matter where they looked, he was nowhere to be found. They all jumped slightly when they heard something open nearby; they turned around and saw a bookcase had moved from where it stood and there revealed to be a passage of some kind. Klein stepped out of the doorway, his eyes were red instead of it’s usual color.

 

“Keep your voices down.” Klein said with a gruff accent, “I told you I’d be here.”

 

“Klein!” The twins exclaimed happily. They ran to him and hugged him; Weiss smiled and dropped her weapon and suitcase, before throwing her arms around him. Klein froze at the sudden gesture but hugged them back, his eyes had turned to black.

 

“Are you sure Mistral is safe?” Klein asked Weiss.

 

Weiss, and the twins broke out of the hug. She had than replied, “No… But, that’s where we’re going to find Winter.”

 

“I can’t to see her again!” Van said.

 

“Wait till we show her our dancing figures!” Nilla said with a smile.

 

Klein looked at three sisters for a moment before saying, “I suppose she’d be the only family you girls will have after you leave here tonight.”

 

Weiss smiled, and placed her hand on his shoulder, “We’ll always have you.”

 

Klein placed his hand on top of Weiss’s and smiled back, “You most certainly will.”

 

The twins couldn’t help but hug Klein again, and he patted them both on the head. “I guess we won’t see each other for awhile.” Nilla said.

 

“We’ll miss you Klein.” Van said.

 

“I’ll miss the both of you as well.” Klein said.

 

They soon heard a loud crash sound from nearby; They knew it was from Jacques’s study. “They’ve broken out.” Azure said.

 

“ **KLEIN!** ” They heard Jacques shout, “ **KLEIN, GET DOWN HERE NOW!** ”

 

Pushing the twins out of the hug, he gestured the four of them into the passage, “You all must go. Now.” He said. Van and Nilla took each others hands and had gone ahead first, followed by Azure. Weiss picked up her weapon and suitcase, and followed them inside; she took a moment to look back to her trusted servant and friend.

 

“... Thank you Klein. For everything.” She said.

 

Klein simply nodded his head, and smiled, before closing the passage. She looked to the beaded bracelet around her wrist, before she proceeded down the passage, catching up with her sisters and Azure.

* * *

 - ** _That Morning in Patch_ ** -

 

After some training between the two teens, Yang had started to make a few adjustments on her new arm. She found a piece of cardboard and placed her Ember Celica on it and started to paint it up. Of course she had painted it her favorite color which was yellow; Angel sat by her side as she spray painted her arm. “So, the color yellow huh?” Angel said, “That really makes it pop.”

 

“Well I have to have this matching my persona, don’t I?” Yang said.

 

“Yeah but yellow?” Angel asked, “I was expecting that you would keep it’s color.”

 

“Nah, not really my style.” Yang said to him with a smile.

 

Yang finally managed to finish it up the painting it and looked over her work. “There, now it’s perfect.” Yang said, admiring her work and she started to dry up the paint. Angel looked over it as well and whistled, “I’ll admit, it doesn’t look half bad.”

 

“If you really think that…” Yang said, before she put the robotic arm back in it’s place after it had dried up quickly, “... Wait till you see Bumblebee.” Yang got up and headed for the garage that was just behind her house. Angel just sat there for a moment, wondering what she meant, and he quickly stood up and followed her. “I’m sorry, Bumblebee?” Angel said catching up to her, “What’s a Bumblebee?”

 

They stood right in front of the door to the garage. Yang opened it and they were met with something covered with a brown; Yang went over to it and removed it swiftly, revealing her motorcycle, still looking brand new.

 

“Holy--” Angel said going to it, kneeling beside it, feeling the bikes engine, “You actually have a motorcycle! I’ve heard about this model, I even begged for my dad to get me one of these, but he wouldn’t let me have one.”

 

“This oughta get us to where we’re going faster.” Yang said, “I’m hoping that she’ll still ride. I haven’t touched this bike since… Beacon.”

 

“You really know how to drive one of these?”

 

“What? You didn’t think I would have it just for show didn’t you?”

 

“No why would you think that? Can I drive it?”

 

“Sorry, my ride, so I’m driving.”

 

Soon enough, a voice had come over the two of them. “I don’t remember saying that you were ready.” Of course they knew that this voice had belonged to none other than Tai who had been leaning against the doorframe. “Oh yeah?” Yang said smiling, not turning to him, “You’re gonna try and stop me?”

 

Tai simply chuckled, “Nah, I think I’m still too sore after our last fight. I just wanted a better goodbye than a letter. And I wanted to ask you a question…”

 

Yang turned to him, and Angel stood up.

 

“ **_... Where are you going?_ ** ”

 

Yang gave a quizzical look to Tai’s question, and Angel gave a curious look as he wondered what Yang’s answer was exactly.

 

“What do you mean?” Yang asked.

 

Tai pushed himself from the doorframe before replying, “Well… Despite asking him numerous times not to… I know that Qrow told you where your mother’s been these days. I know how much you and your cousin wanna see her. I’ve stopped you in the past before, but I won’t now. **_Not anymore_ **. And we both read the note, we know that your sister is heading to Mistral to find that little girl. So… Where are you going?”

 

Yang looked away from her dad, and avoided eye contact with Angel. That really was a good question, where was she going to go? Of course she wanted to see her mom; she wanted to ever since she was a child. Ever since she was a kid all she did was search for answers, though many times in the past, she was told to stop by her father Tai. She remembered the promise that Melody made to her the day she left home; she promised her she would find her mother, and keep her updated on every chance she got. Though due to the fact the CCT was destroyed all contact with her had been lost, and she didn’t even know if she was okay.

 

She soon looked to her bracelet and thought about her sister. Now that she knew that Destiny was alive than she could have a chance to find that little girl with the warm smile, and possibly find out why she was taken, if she was at all. Her chances of finding her would increase if she had reunited with Ruby. Yang wouldn’t lie if she said aloud that she was worried about Ruby as much as she was when Beacon fell. She knew how dangerous Remnant got after what had happened. She knew that she went with Jaune, Nora and Ren. She even caught a glimpse of Roman and Neo going with her as well. She had to be honest with herself, she was worried about them, even the people she once considered enemies.

 

Yang let out a sigh and turned back to her father, giving a determined smile.

 

She soon gave him an answer that satisfied both Tai and Angel.

* * *

 - ** _Menagerie_ ** -

 

Sun let out a groan as he felt himself slowly come too. The first thing he felt was his body hurting slightly; mostly the pain was in his shoulder. He found himself in a familiar surroundings, and he even found himself laying down on the couch, with his shirt removed; he was quick to realize that he was in the study of Blake and Kobi’s father Ghira. He turned his head and soon realized as to why his shoulder was hurting so much. He saw that it was bandaged up, though it was stained with blood slightly.

 

He looked up and saw a familiar young boy with a chipped ear, was sitting on the coffee table with his hands buried in his head. “... Kobi…?” Sun said, getting his attention. Kobi’s ears perked up a and he picked up his head; Sun noticed a faded darkened circle under his eyes. Kobi rubbed his eyes slightly before saying, “Hey Monkey Boy, you’re awake finally.”

 

“Were you up all--?” Sun said before getting cut off when he saw a familiar girl sitting on a chair nearby, with her ears down, “... **_Blake_ ** …?”

 

“We were both up all night after Illia got you.” Kobi said, “... I guess I couldn’t sleep after I thought you were dead. After what I went through at Beacon and Vale; how many innocent lives I saw lost well… I guess I couldn’t go through with watching someone die again.”

 

Sun laughed slightly and said jokingly, “... I didn’t know you cared.”

 

“I do alright? But this doesn’t change the fact that you have a thing for my sister.” Kobi said.

 

Sun turned red, slightly from embarrassment, “What makes you think I have a--”

 

“ **_This is why._ ** ” Blake soon said cutting off Sun, and getting the attention of both him and her brother, “... This is why… **_I left them all behind_ **.”

 

“Sis?” Kobi asked looking at her with concern, “What are you saying?”

 

“... I’m done with it.” Blake said, “I’m done with seeing my friends… The people I love and care about get hurt because of me…”

 

Sun sat up, groaning slightly as he reached out to Blake, “Blake it’s--”

 

“ **JUST SHUT UP!** ” Blake yelled making Sun and Kobi jump at this. Blake started to say Sun, “Do you think I like being alone? Everyday… Everyday I think about them! Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Destiny… They were my friends! I loved them, like I never thought I could love anybody! And Destiny… She was like a little sister to me! Despite everything she went through with the White Fang… She didn’t care the fact that I was a Fanus. She wasn’t even scared of me even after I told her I worked with them… They all accepted me for who I was, despite me being a part of the White Fang… **_And I hope they hate me for leaving._ ** ”

 

Kobi’s eyes widened in shock about this as did Sun’s. “Blake…” Sun said, “... You don’t mean that.”

 

“ **YES I DO!** ” Blake shouted making Kobi and Sun jump again. “Everyone thinks they can help me but they can’t.” Blake said, before taking a seat on the couch where Sun was, “You saw Illia last night and she’s not even the worst! I don’t want anymore of this… **_They’re better off without me._ ** I made my choices and I’ll deal with the consequences because they belong to me…”

 

“... How could you…?” Kobi said, catching Blake by surprise; She looked at him with shock. “What?” She said with a quizzical look.

 

“Sis… You just said, how great they were, how great your own team is, and yet you just turned the other way and ran!?” Kobi said, standing up and looking at her with a mad face, “How could you do that to them without even talking to them or even saying goodbye!? Do you know how cruel that sounds!?”

 

“Kobi wait.” Blake said trying to calm him down, “What are you saying?”

 

“I think I know what he’s saying.” Sun said, making Blake turn to him, “You think you’re being selfless… **_But you’re not._ ** ” Blake looked at him, this time she was put into shock; she looked at him questioningly. Sun finally sat up fully leaning back against the couch, “I’ll tell you one thing, your chameleon friend got me good, but I’d do it all again if it meant protecting you… **_I could promise you Yang would say the same thing too_ **.”

 

Blake lightly gasped at this at the thought of Yang; she couldn’t but have a look of guilt at this at the thought of what happened to her.

 

“You can make your own choices sure… **_But you don’t make them for us._ ** ” Sun said to her, “When your friends, or your family fight for you, **_it's because we want to_ **. So stop pushing us out! That hurts more than any of the bad guys could do to us.” Blake looked to Sun once again shocked by what he was saying.

 

Kobi soon said to his sister, “You know something Blake, even though I love you as a sister, this is the one thing I couldn’t stand when we were growing up. You always thought you had this responsibility to protect people to protect me from dangerous things that you think you can handle on your own, but you know what? **_YOU DON’T GET TO DECIDE AND JUST AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME IT’S OKAY FOR US_ ** . I’m not a little kid anymore, and your friends aren’t little kids! You have no idea how much that affects people when you just up and leave them? Do you have any idea how that makes them feel? How it makes them **_REALLY_ ** feel? They wouldn't even feel mad, they would feel hurt and betrayed! Hell that feeling is even worse than being pissed off at someone.”

 

“I just… I was doing what was right for them.” Blake said.

 

“Right for them… **_Or right for you_ ** ?” Kobi said crossing his arms around his chest and he turned away, “Like I said, it’s just cruel what you did to them. And I hope when you find them, you beg them to forgive you about what you did, since you want them to be mad at you, **_like you hope for._ ** ”

 

The words struck her like lighting at what Kobi said. He didn’t know what he was saying! She had to leave to protect them. Her friends, Yang, they had gotten hurt because of her, and her involvement of the White Fang. She didn’t want to see them get hurt or worse because of her. She just… Couldn’t deal with that kind of pain, not anymore.

 

“ **_Running way again?.... Is that what you’ve become my love? A coward?_ ** ”

 

The words of Adam just echoed through the back of her head. Had she become a coward? She was trained as both as a survivor and as a Huntresses, and they were trained to never run from a fight! She didn’t run, she told Adam she was done running… Right? Who was she even fooling? Why was she even fooling herself? Deep down she knew the real answer to why she left; she was running because she was afraid, afraid of what they might say to her. Afraid that they would hate her, afraid they would never forgive of her because of what happened to Yang.

 

She hated to admit it, but Adam was right… She really did become a coward, and she hated it.

 

Blake let out a sigh, and stood up. “Fine, I’ll admit it…” She said, “... I may have been wrong about--”

 

“May have been wrong?!” Kobi said.

 

“Okay, I **_WAS_ ** wrong about my decision!” Blake said, “And what I did was horrible, and they didn’t deserve it, not after I called them my friends… And maybe I might’ve--”

 

Kobi cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow turning slightly to Blake, as if to say, really to her. Blake sighed again before saying, “Alright, alright, I do carry the weight on my shoulders more often than I do and I don’t ask for help or consult with anyone, not even our parents. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was--No, I thought I was doing the right thing, for them, for you when we were kids. I was stupid into thinking that it was even the right thing, and I should’ve talked to them about it instead of just running. I was wrong and stupid, and I’m sorry.”

 

Kobi’s face changed into a smile, and he hugged Blake. “There’s the sister I know and love.” Kobi said, before pushing himself out of the hug, “But frankly, I’m not the one who you should apologize too.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Blake said, giving him a noogie, “Stop trying to get me more down than I’m already am.”

 

“I’m your little brother, it kind of comes with the resume.” Kobi said jokingly. Blake couldn’t help but laugh at this as did Sun.

 

“And hey, for what it’s worth…” Sun said before flexing his muscles, “... The next time we face off chameleon girl, it won’t be for, it’ll be for payback.”

 

Sun couldn’t help but groan when he felt pain in his shoulder; Kobi heard Blake giggle which he had never heard Blake do before.

 

“My hero…” She said with a smile.

 

Kobi couldn’t help but stick his tongue out and gag a bit earning a look from his sister. Right when he was about to say something--

 

“ **OW!** ”

 

The three teens turned to see the door once again broken and they saw Kali flat on her face and Ghira just standing outside in his usual posture. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, before Kali stood up from the floor and brushed herself off.

 

“Oh dear!” She said as if nothing happened, “Would you look at that? He’s awake! Thank goodness!”

 

Ghira rolled his eyes and put his hand to his face, “Kali… Please…”

 

“ **MOM!?** ” Blake and Kobi exclaimed.

 

“Hi there Mrs. B.” Sun said awkwardly.

 

Blake stood up and went over to her parents, “What are you guys doing here!?”

 

Kali cleared her throat before replying, “Well sweetheart, your father needed to speak with all three of you.” The three teens just tilted there heads at this, just left confused and wondered what exactly Ghira wanted to talk about. Ghira and Kali stepped into the room and put the door back in it’s place. Blake went back over to her brother and Sun, and herself and her brother took their seats on the couch.

 

“I’m afraid you were both right to be suspicious of the White Fang.” Ghira said, putting the scroll that was recovered from Illia on the table.

 

“What do you mean?” Blake asked her father.

 

“What did you find?” Kobi asked soon after.

 

Ghira soon replied, “Adam Tarrus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, and stage a full-scale attack on Haven Academy. **_It would be the Fall of Beacon all over again_ ** …”

 

The three teens cringed at the thought of another academy getting destroyed. They couldn’t let history, that awful event repeat itself. “Not if we destroy the White Fang once and for all…” Sun said. Blake looked to the beaded bracelet around her wrist. She held her own wrist in with her other hand and pulled her hand close to her chest. A familiar faint voice of a child had said to her, “... **_Do what you think is right…No matter what you decide, I’ll wait for you, as long as it takes._ ** ”

 

Blake than picked up her head and said with a determined look on her face, “No… We’re not going to destroy the White Fang… **_We’re going to take it back_ **.”

* * *

 

- **_Three Years Ago; Vale Uptown Area_ ** -

 

_Cristal had to had to admit, comparing to where Destiny and her dad lived in Vale, the uptown part of the city looked almost as if there was no kind of crime whatsoever. That and it was so much different than looking at the city at night, and actually on the ground. Many people were seen hanging out in cafes and restaurants, and she even ran into children that were either doodling on the sidewalk with chalk, or playing hopscotch._

 

_She couldn’t help but window shop at the various stores she passed by; one of them being a store filled with various outfits for Huntsman and Huntresses alike. She admired most of the outfits especially the ones that were steamed punk. Though as much as she wanted to check out the clothing stores, she had a more pressing matter to deal with._

 

_Late last night she followed Destiny and her dad since she wanted to make sure they were both safe. She saw the whole fight between him and the lowly bandits that roamed the city. Just when she thought she was going to have to step in, she saw Destiny do something. She didn’t know what exactly, but whatever she did, nearly tore up the whole block and alerted the police. She know what she saw out there, but… Why couldn’t she recall it?_

 

_Cristal heard the conversation between them and she found it strange that she couldn’t remember, and even more strange because of the way she is now. Destiny did say to her she would often get sick, but she didn’t think she would be that sick. If Destiny really couldn’t remember the events prior to last night, than maybe she could find out about what exactly she did._

 

_After asking for directions she got to where she needed to be. A small bookstore called Tukson’s Book Trade. When she entered the store she saw how packed it was. Most people there were looking through the various books, while others bought the book they wanted; She bumped into a few people that were on their way out the door. Cristal went up to the counter, where she had met the owner assuming to be the man himself, Tukson._

 

_Tukson took notice of the girl’s presence, “Hello there. Welcome to Tukson’s Book Trade, home to every book under the sun, how may I help you?”_

 

_“I’m just here to browse but maybe you can help me.” Cristal said to Tukson, “Do you have any books on cultures? Specifically ancient cultures?”_

 

_Tukson replied pointing to an aisle of books, “Just over there, top and middle shelf.”_

 

_“Great, thanks.” Cristal said, before going over to the aisle where he had pointed over to. She started to take every book that stood out to her, and she sat up against the wall, with a small tower of books by her side. She remembered seeing the butterfly on the middle of Destiny’s forehead and had used that as reference to herself as she looked through the various books she laid out for herself._

 

_She spent a long time looking through the various books on ancient cultures but she couldn’t anything related to the butterfly. This had only frustrated her more, as she ran her hands through her hair. Despite this she pushed onward with searching for--_

 

 _“_ **_OW!_ ** _”_

 

_A book landed on Cristal’s head making her groan slightly at the pain. She looked up to a teen that had gotten a book from a shelf taller than he was. He awkwardly took the book he found and said, “Sorry.” before he hurried over to the counter._

 

 _“Uh… It’s no problem?” Cristal said despite the teen gone from her sight. She picked the book off of her head, and was about to put it back to where it fell, when she took notice of the title of the book. “_ **_Whitefeather…_ ** ? _” She read aloud to herself, remembering back to the story she told Destiny before she left._

 

_She slowly sat herself back down and opened up the book. Inside the book, she saw the logo of a butterfly, being the same color as the one she saw on the girl’s forehead. “... Huh.” Cristal said to herself with a shrug, “... That’s pretty convenient.”_

 

_Cristal turned another page and read through the passage. “In the beginnings of Remnant the Whitefeathers had been known to have the roles of pacifists. They were the only known people to ever find peace, even in darkened times of Remnant, though if they were ever threatened by anyone on the outside they would fight with the help of there trained soldiers, their Knights. Many of it’s members of the Whitefeather family, were unique in there own way, but the only one with such power greater than any other of the family members and said to be as powerful as the ones with Silver Eyes, was the head of the Family. Some say the Head had possessed a semblance unlike the world had ever seen, others say the Head possessed something that wasn’t even a semblance at all. No ones for certain.”_

 

_Cristal raised an eyebrow at this as she reread it again. “Hmmm…” Cristal said to herself, “... The Head Family… The only one possessing a power that can match up to a Silver Eyed warrior, does sound both incredible and ridiculous but… What does this have to do with that insignia I saw, and to what she did last night?”_

 

 _She flipped through the page and read on, “With each passing of the Head, whatever he or she had possessed, will pass it to_ **_only to someone by blood_ ** _. Sometimes it can be the offspring of the Head, or the offspring of the Heads family or their children's children. The cycle is never clear, but it only remains with the Whitefeathers. No one outside of the family can ever possess it. Once it has been given to the chosen family member they will be given the title as a new head of the family_ **_the Scion_ ** _, meaning descendant.”_

 

_Cristal had remembered hearing that name once before. The Scion. Though it was definitely known for its legend and rumors. That’s all she heard about the Scion, just legend and rumors. She had no idea if it was even true herself. This was ancient history, and if she knew the people of Remnant nowadays, they didn’t exactly care for ancient history. Cristal groaned with annoyance as she rubbed her head._

 

_“Damn it, this is just leaving more questions in my head than it does answer!” Cristal complained._

 

 _“_ **_There are some things in this world that are meant to stay forgotten…_ ** _”_

 

_Cristal jumped slightly a voice that echoed through her head. Though she wasn’t scared by it, she just couldn’t help but have a sneer of some sort when she heard the voice. “Oh great…” She said. She looked to the window and saw black and red barn owl with eyes glowing slightly, just staring at her._

 

 _“_ **_A Messenger_ ** _.”_

 

_The owl, known as a Messenger flew away from the view of the window, before anyone noticed. Cristal stood up and placed the books back where she had gotten them. She than headed out the door and saw the Messenger up on a lamppost nearby, waiting for her. The Messenger than took flight flying into a darkened alleyway, just across from where she stood. Cristal had followed the Messenger towards where it flew and went into the darkened alley. She saw the Messenger fly into an old abandoned building and stepped inside. She found herself staring upward to a broken spiral staircase. She sighed as she looked to the Messenger that had been perched on a broken railing._

 

_“What…? She decide to take a raincheck?”_

 

_She soon heard soft footsteps echo through the darkness, before stopping. Cristal turned and saw a familiar woman, her face and appearance covered with a black cloak. She removed her hood revealing her pale face with black veins around her glowing red eyes._

 

_“Hello child.” She said, her voice sounding calm._

 

_“Salem.” Cristal said as she crossed her arms around her chest, “I was wondering when you were going to come out and say hi. Your a little late, but, as they say nowadays, it’s better late than never,”_

 

_“So, the face you have now is the face of that girl.” Salem said, putting her hands behind her back, “... Once again the Efah's properties prove to be… For a lack of better word, incredible.”_

 

_“Well you know all about how the rules work with us Efahs don’t you?”_

 

_“That I do. It’s a shame they’re so few of you left now. But than again, we all know who’s responsible for that, now don’t we?”_

 

 _Cristal turned away from the cloaked woman as she rolled her eyes. “I wonder now…?” Salem said, “... Should I call you by your_ **_previous name_ ** _, or are you being called something different?”_

 

_“Don’t start playing games with me.” Cristal said glaring at her, “I know you wouldn’t risk coming out in the open, risking someone seeing you just to chat, so why don’t we just cut to the chase and tell me what you want.”_

 

_“Must you feel the need to ask that?” Salem said, “We both know your not a fool.”_

 

_Cristal went over to the wall and leaned against it, “… Your after the Relic I know. And wait, let me guess, you want me to help you in taking down Beacon?”_

 

_“No.” Salem said, which had surprised her honestly, “I already have someone taking care of that. I have a different task in mind, involving the face that your based on.”_

 

_Cristal’s eyes widened slightly at this, “... Destiny? That little girl? What do you want with her? You want to kill her?”_

 

_Salem had replied, “It’s simple. I want you to bring her to me.”_

 

_“Why?”_

 

_“You’ve seen what she did to those lowly thieves last night. That alone only proves how powerful that girl is.”_

 

_“How do you know about that?”_

 

_“I had paid a little visit to them. They were more than happy to tell me what she did, how she nearly destroyed the whole block with just a wave of her hand. Of course, I couldn’t let them walk away after they told me what happened.”_

 

_Cristal pushed herself off from the wall, “You had them killed, didn’t you?”_

 

_“They had seen too much of what the girl was capable of doing, and given to what they were going to do to her, they didn’t deserve to live.”_

 

_Cristal couldn’t help but scoff at this, “That certainly is surprising coming from your mouth, since well you don’t give a damn about someone else's life. Why do you need her?”_

 

_“That’s none of your concern.” Salem said to her, “I just need you to bring her to me.”_

 

_Cristal shook her head made small hand motions as she for a moment turned away running her hands through her face and hair. “Do you really think I’ll do what you say just like that?” Cristal said turning back to her, “Because your what, the Queen of all Grimm? Well guess what? You don’t have control over me, not anymore.”_

 

_Salem raised her eyebrow at this, “... And yet you took the Contract, when you attained a body.”_

 

_“True I did, but it doesn’t mean I’ll listen to you.” Cristal said, “I think I remember what I said to you before, the next time you and I saw one another, we would be enemies. This, is that time.”_

 

_“You truly wish to go against me?”_

 

_“The girl that you want, Destiny, is under my protection. And she stays where she belongs, with her family.”_

 

_Salem’s expression seemed to have changed, almost to an amused look, which the young Shadow couldn’t help but find sickening. “I have met many fools in my time who have said the same things you have, and they’ve all met the same fate. You think you can protect her?”_

 

_“I can and I will.” Cristal said, “I don’t care about the rule, and I don’t care about the Contract, I’ll keep her safe from you, and your followers. And than someday… I’ll do this world a favor and erase you from existence.”_

 

_“... Many others have used those words, when they decided to turn there backs on me, but I can promise that it proved to be futile in the end.”_

 

_“Do I look like I give a damn? No matter what you say, you won’t terrify me like you did back than, and you won’t see me crawling back to you.”_

 

 _Cristal soon walked over to her, so that their faces were close, though Salem didn’t even flinch when she did this, “... So you can try to take her, try to hurt her father, frighten me with your words, break me down all you want, but it won’t matter in the end to me because I_ **_WILL_ ** _stop you and I_ **_WILL_ ** _put an end to you.”_

 

 _Salem let out a small smile and said, “... I look forward to that day when_ **_YOU_ ** _finally learn your place.” Salem placed the hood back over her head covering her face, “Until than…” She turned around and walked back the way she came the Messenger not far behind her, leaving the Grimm Hybrid standing in the building alone._

 

_“It’s Cristal by the way!” She called out as she watched Salem disappear in the darkness, “That’s the name I’m going by now! Don’t you dare forget it! You hear me, Salem?!”_

 

_Eventually the sound of her footsteps that echoed through the halls, had soon disappeared._

* * *

 

- **_Present; Kuroyuri_ ** -

 

They all knew the sound of that roar, they all heard the sounds of it going towards the village where the others were. The very moment they heard the sounds, they made their way out of the cave, down the mountain and towards the once known village. The group with Ren running ahead of them had soon saw the village in the distance and picked up their pace.

 

“Not again… Not again!” Ren said as he ran.

 

“We have to hurry and catch up with them!” Rosario said

 

“They couldn’t have gotten too far in the village! Hopefully they didn’t!!” Roman said with slight panic in his voice.

 

“Please, please let us get there in time!” Neo said looking up to the sky for a moment.

 

In a few short moments they all reached the center of the town with the dead tree standing in the middle of it. they all stopped in there tracks catching their breath; Roman clutching his sighed as he groaned with agony. Ren picked up his head and sighed with relief. Ruby, Scout and Jaune stood their shocked at the fact that they were just standing there right in front of them; Qrow and Cristal were still resting against the tree, breathing hoarsely with Senka sitting beside the Hybrid’s side.

 

“Rosario?” Scout said, shocked to see them.

 

“Scout…” Rosario said with relief in her voice when she saw both her and Cristal still there.

 

“Oh thank God, you’re all okay…” Neo said.

 

“What are you guys doing here!?” Ruby said.

 

“Did you hear that noise!?” Jaune said, “What was that!?”

 

“There’s no time to explain!” Roman said as he groaned again when he stood up, “We have to leave this place!”

 

Ruby lightly gasped when she saw a faint color of red on his hand, “Roman, your wound--!” Ruby said.

 

“Don’t worry about that!” Roman said to her, Ruby jumping by his sudden outburst, “We have to go, now!”

 

Rosario looked around and saw that a certain someone wasn’t with them. “Where the hell are Melody, and Frosty!?” Rosario asked.

 

“I don’t know!” Scout replied, “She left to look around a while ago and she hasn’t come back!”

 

“Jaune and I were just about to go and look for her!” Ruby added.

 

“What in the hell is she doing at a time like this!?” Neo exclaimed.

 

“Look it doesn’t matter, we have to get her back here and get going!” Nora said.

 

The group’s attention was soon drawn over to Ren, when they saw him fall to his knees. They saw that he looked alarmed and fearful of something. “No…” They heard Ren say.

 

“Ren?” Ruby said, “What is it? What’s--!”

 

Roman soon shushed Ruby getting her stop in mid sentence. “Listen.” He said with a low voice. Suddenly they heard a noise come over them.

 

**_CLIP, CLOP, CLIP, CLOP…_ **

 

They  jumped at the sudden sounds that had somewhat echoed throughout the abandoned village. They all had a look of alarm as they looked around as to find out where it came from exactly. “You guys hear that too… Right…?” Jaune said preparing to draw his sword. It wasn’t long before they noticed a fearful look appear on Nora’s face.

 

“Ren…” She said fearfully.

 

“No…” They heard Ren say again.

 

The sounds soon came to a stop, and they all looked to where the sounds came from. Their eyes soon widened in horror at the sight of what stopped nearby.

 

“.... Oh my God…” Ruby said fearfully.

 

A bone horse with it’s eyes glowing red, stood nearby where the group had stood but that wasn’t what they were terrified of. The thing they terrified most was the humanoid creature that had been connected to it’s back. It twitched its head in a creepy way, before letting out a piercing roar.

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting For the Rain TV Sized Performed by Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	18. The Voices In My Head

( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_** )

 

“ ** _It’s unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours…_ ** ”

 

 _“_ **_... Please don’t do this!_ ** ”

 

 _“_ ** _You Miss ***** have a choice to make…_ ** ”

 

 _“_ ** _WE HAVE TO RUN! PLEASE WAKE UP!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ ** _I’ll come back… You guys can count on it…_ ** _”_

 

_“_ **_But take comfort in knowing… That I will use it in ways, you cannot imagine.”_ **

 

 _“_ **_... Do you believe in destiny?_ ** _”_

 

Elise’s eyes shot open and sat up suddenly when she saw herself get consumed by fire, and heard faint screaming echo through head. She found herself sweating from the nightmare she had and her skull felt like their was a drill going through it and her chest felt like it was on fire. As Elise grasped her head she noticed that her elbow had been wrapped in bandages and a cast was seen on her leg. Finally she looked around and saw that she was in a familiar room in shades of red, and a dresser with a single glass of water next to it that had been half full. She looked out the window to see a familiar blood sky and that had only confirmed her theory.

 

“I’m back here…?”

 

She soon heard someone softly breathing; She turned and saw a familiar young girl with gray and white hair, just sleeping soundly; her hair was untied and was hanging loosely around her shoulders.

 

“Diamond?”

 

Diamond let out a groan, as she lifted her head and yawned; Her eyes perked up when she saw Elise sitting up. “You’re finally awake, thank goodness.” Diamond said with relief, as she putting her arms around her.

 

“Diamond what…” Elise said groaning again, “... What happened? Why are we back here?”

 

“We were forced to retreat, after you passed out.” Diamond explained as she broke the embrace, “You were out cold for awhile and we didn’t think you would wake up. How do you feel?”

 

“My head feels like it wants to split open and my chest hurts a lot…” Elise said; Her eyes soon widened slightly when she noticed something on Diamond’s face; She noticed their was a bandage on her cheek. “Your face…” Elise said with shock. Diamond didn’t realize what she was talking about until she realized she was referring to her wound; her hand covered the bandage. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

 

“What happened?” She asked reaching towards her face. Diamond grabbed her wrist stopping her, but soon afterwards she let go of her. Diamond took a seat just at the side of her bed and soon explained what had happened, “After you passed out, we were forced to abandon the task the Mistress gave us. Before we did, the Silver Eyed girl… Ruby I believe her name was… She shot off his stinger.”

 

Elise gasped at this placing a hand over her mouth, at what she was told. Diamond continued with her explanation, “We bought you back here and we went to the Mistress, and we--Well I explained what happened. I told her about what you did, out there, about how you attacked Tyrian and I, though, she wasn’t happy when we returned without Cristal and Ruby. I know it’s hard to tell but trust me she wasn’t. Tyrian sort of lost it and gave me this cut it was an accident, and it took me a while, but I managed to calm him down.”

 

Elise tilted her head slightly letting Diamonds words sink in at what she told her, “... I… Attacked you…?”

 

“What?” Diamond said confused.

 

“Just now…” Elise said, as she groaned from the pain she felt in her head and chest, “... You said, I attacked you… When did I do that…?”

 

Diamond’s jaw dropped slightly and gave a quizzical look to her, “... Are you--Are you saying you don’t remember? Like, at all?”

 

Elise simply shook her head before asking, “... How’s Tyrian? Will he be alright?”

 

Diamond stammered slightly, “... Uh… Well, you know how he is, it’s hard to tell.”

 

Before Elise could ask anything more they heard the door open, and someone step inside. The two teens tensed up when they realized who it was. “Mistress!” Diamond exclaimed, as Elise’s eyes widened. She immediately stood up and bowed her head, “My apologies, I didn’t realize that you were coming, I should’ve been--!”

 

“It’s fine.” Salem said to Diamond making her flinch and standing straight, “I’d like to speak with Elise alone. Would you mind?”

 

Diamond replied, “No of course not.” She turned over to Elise and said to her, “I’ll come back later, don’t worry.”

 

Elise nodded her head to Diamond, and with one last bow to Salem, she left the room shutting the door behind her leaving only Salem and her in the room. “Elise.” Salem said, making Elise flinch slightly, “You’ve only been gone for a short time, and already you’ve forgotten your manners?”

 

Elise took a deep breath and said to her calmly, “No Mistress, I haven’t forgotten, forgive me.”

 

Salem walked over to her and had taken a seat where Diamond had sat earlier, “Your sister had explained to me what had happened, about how you attacked her and Tyrian. Did you have a particular reason to do such a thing?”

 

“No, Mistress I don’t.” Elise replied, “I don’t even remember attacking them.”

 

“You have no recollection doing so?” She asked.

 

“No.” The young teen replied, before groaning and grasping her head when the pain continued, “Yes, maybe, I--I don’t know.” She felt the pain in her head increase and more images flashed through suddenly; She cried out in agony as she dug her nails into her head. The voices rang through her head once more.

 

“ **_Hey… An *** never goes back on his word. Now do you want to stand there and laugh at me, or do you wanna dance?_ ** ”

 

“ **_I would love to dance!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_Do you believe in destiny?_ ** _”_  

 

“ **_Sometimes I wonder… If something different were to happen. Like what would happen if I was given a choice?”_ **

 

 _“_ **_You’re one of the most sweetest, and kindest girl we’ve all come know. Don’t let others tell you otherwise._ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_Do you believe in destiny?_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING ******, NOT POISONING HER!_ ** _”_

 

**_“There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.”_ **

 

 _“_ **_IF IT LOOKS THE SAME AS IT DOES COMING BACK UP, THAN THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_Come on guys, let’s get a group photo for little ******!_ ** _”_

 

 _“_ **_Do you believe in things like destiny?_ ** _”_

 

Elise felt small amounts of blood drip from the side of her head when she stopped scratching her scalp; she forgot about all that was around her, and even the fact that Salem was sitting at her bedside. Salem herself had sat there in her usual calm posture as she watched Elise catch her breath and stopped what she was doing. Though both didn’t realize that the glass of water had started to ripple slightly despite there being no vibrations of any kind.

 

“Stop it…” She heard Elise say, “Stop it, just shut up… I’m not her…It’s all a lie… I’m not her…  I’m _**NOT** _ you… **STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME THINK I’M YOU!** ”

 

Elise slammed her fist onto the bed, and a glass of water that had sat nearby suddenly splashed upward and turned into ice instantly. Salem and Elise had taken notice of this, and the young girl herself was especially shocked; She looked at her own hand, than the glass of water. “Wha--what?” Elise stammered the pain in her chest increased, “Did I just--Agh…” Elise looked up to Salem, “Mistress… What’s…”

 

Salem placed a finger under her chin as she was thinking, “... This only confirms it, what Diamond saw out there…” She said softly.

 

Elise was left confused by this, as what Salem said didn’t really make sense to her. Finally Salem turned to Elise, “... I’m going to ask you one thing, and I expect you to tell me.” She said, “... What was the last thing you remember?” Elise thought about her answer but avoided eye contact. Salem put her fingers under her chin and made her turn to her, “I want you to look me in the eye, and tell me.” Salem said with a different tone of voice

 

Elise had nodded slightly and her fingers were removed. She soon replied, hesitantly, but still retaining eye contact, “... I was… I was fighting the one named Jaune, and the building’s roof we were on collapsed beneath us… I fell and I was surrounded with darkness… I heard a voice, belonging to the girl, and Pyrrha… That’s when the voices came and my chest start burning and all I did was scream. The voices, they haven’t gone--.” The young teen girl heard more of different voices go through her head; to her it sounded like the voices were bouncing off of the walls in the very room she sat in. She groaned in agony slightly. She was about to grasp her head again, but Salem grabbed her wrist stopping her.

 

“Hurting yourself won’t be able to help you.” Salem said as she soon let go of her wrist letting Elise’s hand fall , “What your feeling is a side effect to your new abilities that have manifested. It’s happened before when you came out of the Abyss, and it will only get worse.”

 

Elise looked to Salem with confusion, “... I…” She stammered, “Mistress, I’m afraid I don’t understand…”

 

“... Do you remember what I told you, about the Maidens?”

 

“... Y--Yes Mistress… I remember… You told me, that Cinder is one of them. The Fall Maiden to be precise… Why do you--?”   


 

Elise stopped herself when she saw her giving a certain look; Salem gestured slightly over to the water which Elise had froze up. The young girl seemed to put two and two together as she looked at her hand. “Are you saying…” Elise said, “... I’m one of them…? I’m one of these Maidens…?”

 

“You were able to bend the water and lighting to your very will, without any assistance from Dust.” Salem said to her, “... Only a Maiden has such a power to do what you did.”

 

“But I--” Elise stammered grasping her head again, “It can’t be… Mistress, it can’t--”

 

“It can be.” Salem said, “Though you are not an ordinary Maiden, originating from the four seasons. You are a fifth maiden. **_The Rogue Maiden._ ** ”

 

Elise remembered hearing the term Rogue before; She and her sisters were told of the Maidens existence sure, but she had remembered them telling her and her sisters of the one called the Rogue Maiden. They knew that the Rogue Maiden was one of them, though they couldn’t determine which one it was. Elise just couldn’t believe her words, at the thought of herself being the one called the Rogue Maiden.

 

“I’m… I’m the fifth?” Elise said, letting the words sink in, “But… That can’t be right… I can’t be…”

 

“It is hard to grasp, but make no mistake.” Salem said, “You are the Rogue Maiden. The voices in your head, the pain you feel, is because of your powers. They will only get worse as long as you don’t have control.”

 

Elise’s expression changed to a panicked expression at this. She couldn’t deal with the voices and the burning sensation she felt in her chest She’s had to deal with them for the months she’s been alive, she’s existed, and she often found herself staying up late at nights or even staying up all night, to try and deal with the voices and the pain, though she didn’t know how much more she could take. She heard Salem say, “If you wish for those to go away… Than you must learn to control them. If you do this, than you won’t have to worry about them, ever again.”

 

Elise looked more shocked than she did before when she , “...What I did to them… Actually happened… I tried to kill them…”

 

“And it will happen again, if you let it. Those voices you’ve been hearing, and the pain you’ve been feeling will only get worse, and the next time your powers come out… You might take a life.”

 

Elise looked to Salem, her expression a bit more calming, though her expression still read fear. She didn’t know what to say exactly, she just sat there in silence. “I will teach you, train you to control your powers, once you’ve fully healed. On the condition that you are to remain here by my side.”

 

“... Remain here?” Elise said a bit surprised at this; she groaned when more of the whispers went through her head, “... With all due respect my lady, wouldn’t I be more useful if I was capable of helping my sisters, with Watts, Tyrian and Hazel?”

 

Salem replied to the teen, “You will be able to help them, when your powers are kept in check, though for now… It will be safer for you and everyone else if you remain here.”

 

“... I…” Elise said as she groaned, again, “I understan-- **AGH!** ” The images and voices started to go through her head once more, as she buried her face in her hands once more. All of them mixed up and all which went by too fast; one being of the young girl and the other being of the girl with crimson hair. She kept trying to block out the images in her head, but it was of to no avail, the pain kept on increasing, to the point where the frozen water that had sat on the dresser melted at started to act up, and a storm had brewed just outside of the window around the castle. Soon enough lighting and thunder echoed through the land.

 

“Stop it… Stop it!” Salem heard the girl say as she saw tears stream down her face, “Stop making see them! Stop torturing me with those images!”

 

“Hush now Elise…” Salem said, making the girl turn to face her, “... All of the pain will stop soon…”

 

Salem moved her hands from her face, before placing her own over her eyes. The red eye on the side of her stomach started to give out a faint glow, and black veins appeared around her right eye and Elise had started to cry out with agony. After only a few short moments Elise suddenly gone limp; the clouds slowly separated themselves from each other and the water stopped moving on it’s own and turned into a puddle. The red eye had stopped glowing and the black veins had vanished. Salem removed her hand and Elise’s eyes were closed, a faint stream of tears were seen and Salem eased her back into the bed and allowed her to sleep.

 

With silence filling the room, Salem stood up and left the room leaving the girl alone to rest.

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting for the Rain Performed by Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	19. To Stand and Move Foward

( **_Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed by Casey Lee Williams_ ** )

 

- **_Kuroyuri_ ** -

 

One the far side of the once great village Kuroyuri, Melody had sat on a ruined staircase with her knees close to her chest as she played with the cross around her neck. Frosty sat by her side as he would sometimes rub her leg as a way to comfort her. All she did was sit in silence, listening to the wind blowing, she flinched slightly from the cold, though she didn’t necessarily mind it. She had something on her mind as she sat on the wooden steps. The words of her dad kept repeating in the back of her head from their conversation last night. She was currently in a turmoil about what had happened, and what she should decide to do. She wanted desperately to be in control on the creature inside her, she wanted to be able to tell Ruby and her friends, but she couldn’t. 

 

She was just too scared. Too scared to tell them, too scared to hear what they would think. If it happened with her mother, than who’s to say it would happen to the others too. She resented her mother for leaving sure, she still couldn’t help but blame herself, for not getting it under control sooner, or even realizing that it was there. She saw the way they looked at her when she snapped at Jaune, they were scared of her; and she hated the fact they were. 

 

Melody let out a sigh as laid back on the wooden porch, running fingers through her hair, before her hand went back to the cross around her neck. Frosty crawled on her chest and sniffed at her necklace in her open hand. The young teen couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, “You like it, huh little guy?” 

 

The little white fox tilted its head slightly to her, “... This was a gift from dad after I got into Signal Academy. He said he got it on one of his missions and thought it would suit me. It really does… Even after I left home I still kept it with me after all this time.” 

 

Melody’s expression changed as she looked to the cloudy gray sky above. She let her good arm fall to the side, at her arm’s length. 

 

“Sometimes…” She said, “... Sometimes I wonder if I ever made the right choice, about leaving Patch… I want to see my Aunt sure, and at the same time, I don’t want to have to hurt, nor kill them… But often at times I wonder what they think. What Yang, and Uncle Tai really think about me after I left… Like, if they hate me for it… You know what I mean…?” 

 

All Frosty did was let out a yawn in a response to her question and scratched his ear. Melody chuckled slightly as she went to scratch his ear; Frosty leaned in for the touch. 

 

“... Yeah… That’s what I thought you would say.” She said, leaning her head back into the wood floor again, “... Maybe I should tell them about  **_the Creature_ ** … I’ve already kept it from them… From Ruby long enough… And after what I was about to do Jaune, they have a right to know this.” 

 

**BOOM! BANG!**

 

Melody sat up straight when she heard loud sounds in the distance and Frosty jumped off her chest as his ears perked up. 

 

“What the hell!?” 

 

She stood up and ran towards the concrete path where the buildings were and Frosty ran to her side. There in the distance she saw explosions, and heard the sound of gunshots. From the smoke she could tell where it was coming from and her eyes widened with horror and realization. 

 

“Oh no…”

 

With Melody allowing Frosty to climb up her shoulder, she sprinted towards the sounds and gunfire, back to where her friends and were hopefully still standing.

* * *

 

Team RNJR, Roman, Neo, Scout and Rosario all flew back sliding across the concrete floor with grunts and groans of agony by a brute force. They all struggled to stand up, as they were armed to the teeth, though some of them had slight difficulty since some were still injured from the previous fight. They all caught their breath and turned their attention to what had hit them exactly. 

 

A creature of Grimm, though it wasn’t like any of the Beowolves or Ursa they have ever seen before. This Grimm in particular, was a bone-like horse like creature, with paws on the front and hooves on the back, giving off a sound of a pattern as it had walked. On its back, there was a humanoid creature it’s mouth sewn shut though the inside of it’s mouth glowed red; it had long horns sticking out of it’s forehead and the arms being so long it’s clawed hands had been dragged along the ground. It’s eyes glowed red in a pool of black tar, and arrows and all other sorts of weapons were wedged into its back, though it didn’t seem to care that they were nor did it even notice it was there. 

 

The creature, one known as the Nuckelavee, looked upon the group, most of them having a horrified look on their faces, before it’s attention was drawn to a nearby shriek. The Nuckelavee turned to the Grimm Griffon Senka, and spotted Qrow and Cristal who still laid unconscious against the tree. The group look as their eyes widened in realization that it was going to attack them first. 

 

“ **NOT ON MY WATCH!** ” Rosario yelled as she ran to them. The Nuckelavee went after Rosario; it attacked her with it’s arms in an attempt to stop her. Thanks to the weapons on her heels she made herself jump several but she safely rolled on the ground; she picked Cristal up, throwing her over her shoulder. “ **BLONDIE!** ” She yelled over to Jaune, “ **I’VE GOT HER, GET HIM!** ” 

 

“ **RIGHT!** ” Jaune yelled before sheathing his blade. He started to run over to Qrow, causing the Nuckelavee to attack him. He managed to dodge it’s arm when it went to attack him; he picked up Qrow, putting his arm over his shoulder and Qrow just seemed to have slumped, but unconsciously made an effort to stand despite this. Just when Jaune and Rosario were about to make a break for it the Nuckelavee arm blocked their path causing them to back up slightly; it than charged at them with full force. 

 

“ **ROSARIO! JAUNE!** ” Ruby yelled in a panic. 

 

“ **WATCH OUT!** ” Scout yelled. 

 

Both Jaune and Rosario stood there paralyzed with fear as it charged at the both of them. Just as it had gotten closer to them, the color on both of their bodies, and Cristal and Qrow’s suddenly disappeared. The very second this happened, the Nuckelavee stopped in it’s tracks and started to look around, actually wondering where they went; Even Senka was actually confused as to where his partner had went. 

 

“It can’t see us…?” Jaune said confused. 

 

It wasn’t long before Rosario finally noticed that their own bodies had lacked color, “Our bodies--!” She said with shock and surprise. They both looked to the group and saw Ren’s hand on the ground; they were soon quick to realize that Ren was the one that did it. 

 

“ **JUST GO!** ” Ren yelled to them, “ **GET THEM OUT OF HERE!** ” 

 

Roman, Ruby and Nora gotten the Nuckelavee’s attention, by firing at it. It turned over to them, and went to charge at them. “ **QUICK! EVERYBODY SCATTER!** ” Ruby yelled. The group split apart with a quick pace, just as the Nuckelavee ran into the building just behind them, shattering it into pieces. They had started to fire onto the beast, and Jaune and Rosario used the distraction as the opportunity to get their severely injured somewhere safe from the battle. As soon as the color left their bodies, Senka had quickly went by Rosario’s side, as they both moved with a quick pace. 

 

“Jaune, over here!” Rosario said, pointing over to a nearby alleyway, just far enough from where they were fighting the beast. They went into the alleyway and laid Qrow and Cristal next to one another; Senka went to the young girl’s side. 

 

“Are you sure they’ll be okay here?” Jaune asked the bounty hunter. 

 

“Don’t worry they will be.” Rosario said, “As long as that thing doesn’t try to find them they’ll be safe.” 

 

Rosario patted Cristal on the head earning a groan from her, “Just hang on a little longer alright? We’ll be back before you know it.” She than stood up and turned to Jaune, “Let’s get back to the others. They need us.” 

 

“Alright.” Jaune said. Rosario ran out of the alleyway, and Jaune was about to follow behind when he suddenly felt something grab his hand. He looked and saw that Qrow was the one that had grabbed his hand, giving him a certain look. Though he soon felt his hand go limp as Qrow just passed out. Jaune looked to Qrow before looking over to Cristal who was still breathing horsely. 

 

“ **BLONDIE!** ” He heard Rosario yell, “ **WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE!? COME ON! WE GOTTA HURRY!** ” 

 

Giving them one last look, he ran in the direction Rosario had gone to and Qrow’s hand fell to the floor. Just as Jaune disappeared, Senka had stood over the young girl as she gave out moans of agony and as she gave out raspy breaths. He knew she wasn’t going to last much longer. He knew she was fighting for her life right now, but though from the way she was he knew she was losing the battle. He couldn’t let her die, she was his partner and he couldn’t let her die. He knew that their was only one way to help her, though he didn’t know how it would affect himself, he had no choice. 

 

He had to save her in the only way he knew how. 

 

His eyes glowed a bright color of orange and small red markings appeared around it’s beak, while the red eye on her back glowed red as well. With a screech, he bit her wounded shoulder as her red eye on her back glowed violently. Red markings suddenly appeared on her and the Griffon’s body and they were both swallowed in a red light.

* * *

 

The group either fired or charged at the Nuckelavee, doing whatever they could to bring it down. Ruby and Roman went to the Nuckelavee with their blades and all; Roman with his hand blade, and Ruby with her scythe. Roman tried to attack its legs attempting to get it at a disadvantage, but all it did was attack him, kicking him with it’s front foot causing him to fly back and cry out with agony when he felt a huge pain from his wound; he flew back a few feet. Neo quickly ran to his side when she saw him topple on the ground. 

 

Ruby gritted her teeth at this and attempted to attack from high above. She launched herself in the air with the help of her Crescent Rose, and was about to, but the Nuckelavee grabbed her and slammed her on the ground breaking the tiles. Nora and Scout were about to attack next but the beast grabbed Nora with its other arm and threw her to Scout hitting her, making them fly back too. Ren started to run around it as he fired from his pistols, getting its attention drawn towards him. 

 

The Nuckelavee extended its arms and grabbed both of Ren’s hands he stopped in his tracks as he tried to break free from its grip. That’s when Rosario made her move. She dashed towards the creature and let out a series of kicks firing rounds; the bullets hit the hands of the Nuckelavee and it was forced to let go. The whole now standing surrounded the creature all armed and ready. 

 

“ **GUYS!** ” Jaune yelled, “ **RUN IN A CIRCLE! KEEP MOVING!** ” 

 

They nodded their heads to Jaune and started to run in a circle as they fired onto the creature and attacked it from all sides. The Nuckelavee tried to attack them all but had no such luck hitting them since they all just kept moving, and dodging its attacks. Despite their bullets and even the flare shots from Roman’s weapon the Nuckelavee didn’t even seem phased by it whatsoever. Their strategy fell apart suddenly when Roman fell on his knees, when he felt a sudden dizziness. Blood had gone through his shirt and dripped onto the stone floor; he groaned and coughed up some blood. 

 

The Nuckelavee used this an opportunity to attack. 

 

“ **ROMAN!** ” Neo cried out. 

 

Ruby acted fast and used her semblance, equipping her scythe ( **_Since she folded up earlier_ ** ) and managed to get in front of him. She blocked the hand from hitting him, but it grabbed the base of her scythe. With a scream she found herself flying through the air. It shook her back and forth as if she were a ragged doll. Jaune went to strike; we attacked the Nuckelavee legs and it cried out with agony dropping Ruby. While she landed on her feet he was kicked back with its back legs and Jaune was sent hurdling back a few feet, though he managed to stick the landing. 

 

Ruby quickly ran to Roman’s side, as he was still on his knees, holding himself up with his cane. “Are you okay?” Ruby asked him with concern. 

 

“I’m fine.” Roman said standing up hitting his side in an attempt to stop the bleeding, “Just worry about taking that thing out!” 

 

Ruby helped him to stand up still having a look of concern on her face, “As long as your sure…” 

 

He and Ruby soon noticed Jaune sheathing his blade, “What are you doing!?” Ruby shouted to him. 

 

“Fights not over yet Arky!” Roman yelled after Ruby. 

 

He removed the sword from his belt sheathed in all; the blade had extended itself, making the sword seemingly bigger, which colored Ruby and Roman impressed. They quickly jumped back into the fight, despite Roman’s wound having opened back up. Jaune ran behind it and attacked it with his two handed weapon, and it screamed, while Ruby fired onto the creature. Once again the group had fired onto the beast leaving it somewhat defenseless. Finally the Nuckelavee had enough; stretching itself it started to spin around with it’s arms extending, catching everyone by surprise and sending them flying all directions. The spines on its back had extended, and it let out a very powerful screech, causing everyone’s ears to bleed; they tried to muffle the sound, but it was to no avail. 

 

“ **HEY UGLY!** ” 

 

A bullet had hit its arm letting the screeches come to a halt. The whole group turned saw Melody armed with her weapon, and Frosty hanging on her shoulder. 

 

“Leave my friends alone!” She said, as she coaxed the beast to come to her. With another roar the creature charged over at the young girl. “ **MELODY! DON’T BE AN IDIOT!** ” Rosario yelled. 

 

“ **RUN THE OTHER WAY!** ” Scout shouted. 

 

Melody quickly jumped out of the way as the beast charged at her; she took the opportunity to equipped her scythe and she charged at it with full speed. Despite her only have one working arm, she used all of strength and energy into her attacks and swings. The others and cousin shouted at her, trying to tell her to run the other way and regroup, though she wasn’t listening; she just kept attacking it with full force. It seemed like she had it on the ropes as the blade hit its leg and arms, though that was short lived when the Nuckelavee grabbed her ankle and swung her upward. Right when it threw her to the ground Melody managed to catch herself with the help of her scythe. Once again it was short lived when it hit her with its other arm, right across the face, and she skidded across the floor; Her aura shimmered slightly showing that it had easily broke.

 

“ **THAT’S IT!** ” Ruby exclaimed, as she ran she grabbed ahold of her Crescent Rose that she dropped earlier; Rosario and Scout soon followed behind her. Ruby charged at the best hitting it with her scythe before gaining a distance and firing at the Nuckelavee. Rosario jumped high into the air and fell towards it, attempting to hit its face, but it grabbed a hold of her prosthetic leg, which was a mistake on the beasts part when she equipped her blade; she sliced off one of it’s fingers, and flew towards it thanks to her gun heels and hit the horse and the humanoid, head on. Despite this it still didn’t seem phased by it. Scout charged at it with blades and attempted to attack its legs but once again it proved to be useless. It tried to hit her with it’s foot, but Scout was able to use her semblance and the foot just phased right through her. 

 

As Rosario and Scout got the Nuckelavee distracted, Ruby ran over to her cousin and helped her up off of the floor.  “What in the world were you thinking!?” Ruby exclaimed, “You can’t take this thing on by yourself!” 

 

“I could’ve handled it!” Melody said to her, picking up her scythe.

 

“The only way we can beat this thing is together!” Ruby said to her, “You don’t have to fight it on your own!” 

 

“I’m just trying to keep you safe!” 

 

“You don’t have to keep me safe!” 

 

“Yes I do! Because you don’t know that thing like I do and I don’t want you to get killed because of me!” 

 

Ruby looked at her with a confused look, as Melody covered her mouth suddenly. Ruby was soon to realize that Melody wasn’t talking about the Grimm before them. “Wait, what?” Ruby said. 

 

Right before Melody was about to say something, her whole body had tensed. “ **LOOK OUT!** ” Melody yelled shoving Ruby out of the way suddenly. The next thing Ruby knew, Melody’s head, snapped to the side roughly as the Nuckelavee’s hand ran across her skull. Melody’s pupils dilated as she fell on her side roughly; the whole groups eyes widened in horror at this. “ **MELODY, NOOO!!!** ” Ruby, Rosario and Scout exclaimed. Her and her team members ran to her side, and saw that she was struggling to breath as drool was soon coming out of her mouth. 

 

“Holy-- **MELODY!** ” Jaune shouted before running over to where she was. 

 

“God damn it!” Roman yelled, before firing at the Nuckelavee, getting its attention towards him. The Nuckelavee charged over at Roman, Neo, Ren and Nora, and they quickly scattered as they started to fight against the giant beast. Ruby, and Rosario were struggling to keep her awake while Scout looked her over; Frosty whimpered seeing his friend in so much pain. Tears were coming out of Ruby’s eyes, “Melody! Melody please! Wake up!” 

 

“Damn it Melody! We can’t lose you! Not you!” Rosario exclaimed as tears were seen on her eyes as well

 

“What’s wrong with her!?” Jaune yelled. 

 

Scout looked over Melody; she felt her pulse before letting out a gasp, placing her hand over her mouth. “What?” Ruby said, “What is it?” 

 

Scout started to tear up as well as she looked to Ruby and Rosario, “I’m sorry…” She said with her voice cracking, “I’m sorry… There’s nothing I can--I’m sorry…”    
  


Scout started to drown herself in sobs, as the three of them put two and two together. “No…” Ruby said her voice cracking, taking Melody in her arms holding her close, “No, no, no, no... I can’t lose her… Not her, please not her!!” 

 

“Melody… You idiot…” Rosario through her tears. 

 

“Melody I’m sorry…” Scout said burying her face in her hands, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” 

 

Jaune lips started to quiver, he fell to his knees as tears started to form, “No… This can’t be happening…” He said before yelling, “ **THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!!** ” 

 

“Melody…” Ruby cried before shouting, “ **MELODY!!** ” Ruby buried her into her hair, as she continued to cry.

 

The world seemed to have slowed down around them, as the Nuckelavee batted Roman, Neo, Ren and Nora to the side, turning its attention towards the sound of cries. They didn’t realize that Melody’s eyes started to move, struggling to look around. 

 

“ _ Wha… _ ” Melody started to think through her head, “ _ No… Am I dying…? I can’t… I can’t die… Not here… Not while… _ ” 

 

Melody’s attention was drawn to sound of sobs; Her eyes moved and saw where the sounds were coming from. 

 

“ _ Jaune…? Rosario…? Scout…? _ ” She saw tears falling from their faces and the Nuckelavee in the distance preparing to charge them. 

 

“ _ No… It’s… Please stop crying… You have to run… If you don’t you’ll all be… _ ”  

 

She soon felt tears run down her face that were not of her own. Her eyes moved up and saw that Ruby was in tears and felt her holding onto her. Ruby’s face was drenched with her own tears and though her vision was a blur, she her eyes bloodshot red, and she was letting out horrific wails. 

 

“ _ Ruby…? No… Please don’t cry… I’m still here… I’m still here… I can’t die… I can’t… _ ” 

 

Images soon started to go through her head, as she saw herself once more as a child in front of familiar faces, just laughing at not just her, but at a child younger than her, with big silver eyes, just crying after being pushed. Melody felt her body, her blood run cold as she heard them laugh mockingly at her

 

“ **_Eat dirt you little babies!_ ** ” 

 

“ _ Shut up… _ ”

 

_ “ _ **_What are you going to do about it? We’re bigger than you!_ ** ”

 

_ “... Stop laughing at her…” _

 

_ “ _ **_Don’t tell us what to do little girl!_ ** ”

 

_ “... I’ll make you pay… You’ll pay for making her cry…” _

 

Melody’s fingers in her makeshift cast, just as the the people around her, turned to finally realizing that the Nuckelavee was going to charge at them, and the others shouted at them as to try to get them to move though, they just stood there as still as statues as it went to attack them. 

 

“ **NO!** ” Ren exclaimed. Just as he was about to run over to help them, a blade of some kind suddenly appeared, hitting the knee of the large beast, making Ren stop in his tracks and the others jumped at this. Ruby and the others soon realized that it wasn’t a blade, but a narrow claw that had acted like a blade. There eyes followed and saw that it was Melody herself, as more claws started to grow from her good arm, which put them all into the state of shock. When they turned to Melody, they saw her eyes were black and her pupils narrow. She gave a faint growl, as she bared fangs; her shirt started partly tear up as her body started to change; her hands grew larger and claws started to grow, tearing apart her gloves. She ripped up her makeshift cast and the once broken arm just seemingly repaired itself, which left the group stunned. 

 

Her long raven black hair, just sunk into her skin, and just changed into dark gray fur, and white fur appeared underneath her neck. Her face changed to that of a wolf, and a black nose appeared just above her mouth and even ears appeared at the top of her head. A pair of antelope horns suddenly grew out of her head, just near her ears, and a tail started to grow on her lower back. Her legs started to grew as well, ripping apart her leggings and partly her pants as her legs grew longer. Her shoes were ripped apart as her own feet grew bigger slightly. They became gray hind feet and claws developed on two of her toes, and her legs became furry just up her knees where a part of her leggings were still seen and a long reptiles tail grew out of her lower back, and everyone that saw her knew her appearance didn’t know what to think. Frosty quickly climbed up onto Ruby and made himself at home in her hood. 

 

They saw parts of her skin was still there on her body, even the fact that her left arm was entirely of skin and her right was covered with dark gray fur, as well as other parts of her body. 

 

“Holy hell…” Rosario just backing up slightly from the girl. 

 

“What in the world is…” Scout said, “... Her arm… Just repaired itself…” 

 

“... What…” Jaune said, “What happened to her…?” 

 

Ruby let go of the teenage girl as she stood up from the ground on her tall legs; Ruby stood up as well just shocked by Melody’s sudden change of appearance. “Melody…?” Ruby said, “... Melody is that…?” 

 

As the nail retracted itself into the being's hand, it let out a fearsome roar, before charging at the Nuckelavee attacking it’s arms and horse. The Nuckelavee, tried to attack back, but the Creature proved to be to quick on its feet as it moved like the animal the young girl was now. It moved with its hands and feet, and at one point it jumped onto the horse latching onto the Nuckelavee’s humanoid body. The group jumped when it sunk its fangs right into the beast's shoulder and neck making it roar with agony. 

 

“ **HOLY CRAP!** ” Rosario exclaimed. 

 

“ **WHAT THE HELL!?** ” Roman yelled with shock. 

 

“She’s-- She’s biting it!!” Scout yelled, “She’s actually biting it!”

 

Ruby was just left stunned at this, as she didn’t know what to say exactly; what do you say to this, when you see someone change into someone completely different!? Into a different kind of being?! The Nuckelavee just grabbed ahold of the Creature and threw her off roughly. The Creature managed to stick the landing as she dug her claws into the ground, making her slow herself down, before charging at the Grimm, baring her claws. Though it had stopped in its tracks when Ruby and Scout blocked its way. 

 

“Stop this Melody!” Ruby said through her tears, “You’re going to get yourself killed!” 

 

“Please Melody, listen to us…” Scout begged. 

 

The Creature gave an aggressive growl towards the two girls, and gave them a look to kill. With its claws growing longer slightly it went to attack them catching them by surprise and giving them no time to react. They were both shoved to the ground courtesy of Rosario just missing the two of them and leaving behind marks on the ground. 

 

“What are you doing?!” Ruby yelled. 

 

“I’m saving your life!” Rosario said back to her. 

 

Their attention was drawn to the Creature when she suddenly charged at them again but this time they quickly scattered and dodged its attack. “Great, as if we didn’t have enough to deal with!” Rosario said, as the Creature went after her. Ruby and Scout quickly went to help Rosario. They were being extremely careful not to hurt it while they attacked it. The Nuckelavee saw them distracted and saw an opening to attack them while they were kept busy. 

 

Jaune noticed this, “ **GUYS IT’S GOING TO CHARGE!!”** He yelled getting the attention of Ruby, though she was hit across the face by the Creature’s tail getting her to stumble, and Rosario and Scout stumbled to when they were hit with her claws. Just as the beast was about to charge, Ren was quick to act on his part. He ran towards the dead tree and started to fire upon the Nuckelavee getting its attention to him. As Ren tried to jump out of the tree, the Nuckelavee launched it’s arm grabbing a hold of him, pinning him to a building nearby; Ren struggled to get out of it’s grip but it was to no avail. 

 

Roman went to help him, arming his hand blade, but it used it’s free arm to hit him away, hitting his wound in the process. He fell on his side leaving a trail of blood in his wake; Neo quickly ran to his side and help him up off the floor. 

 

“ **RUBY!** ” Nora yelled over to the silver eyed girl. 

 

Ruby looked to Nora and nodded and got into position. With a running start from a Nora and a spin from Ruby, she launched Nora with the help of her Crescent Rose and she flew towards Ren just as the Nuckelavee went to strike Ren who had already shut his eyes. 

 

A crashing sound soon echoed throughout the area, as Ren felt no pain from the strike. He opened his eyes and saw that it’s other arm was holding onto something. Looking to his side he saw Nora dangling from her Magnhild, just a bit higher than from where Ren was stuck. Ren looked up to Nora with concern as Nora looked to him. 

 

“Stop looking!” She said as she pulled on her skirt to cover herself. 

 

“Gah, sorry!” Ren said looking away and covering his eyes, and his face turning red slightly with embarrassment; not even realizing that Nora was grinning to herself. 

 

“ **SERIOUSLY!?** ” They heard Roman shout as he once again hit his side to stop the bleeding though there was no such luck doing so. The Nuckelavee suddenly swung Nora around slamming her on the buildings and floor before throwing her to the ground roughly; a light shimmered around her body, indicating that her aura finally broke. 

 

“Oh no, Nora!” Scout yelled. She attempted to make her way over to Nora, though Melody was quick to block her way. Ren suddenly lost it, as he started to hit at it’s hand with the blades on his Stormflowers before firing at it. Roman ( **_Despite his wound having opened up_ ** ) and Jaune quickly went to help as they attacked both sides of its leg, forcing it to drop Ren. As he hit the ground, and got up on his feet he charged at the Nuckelavee with aggressive force and went to attack. He was hit back by the hand of it but didn’t stop him from charging at the beast again. 

 

“ **REN KNOCK IT OFF!** ” Jaune yelled to his teammate, as he noticed his behavior. 

 

“ **ARE YOU JUST ASKING FOR A DEATH WISH!?** ” Roman yelled, “ **GET OUT OF THERE YOU IDIOT!** ” 

 

“ **STOP IT REN!** ” Neo shouted, “ **STOP BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING STUPID!** ” 

 

Ren had blocked off their words as he let out a battle cry as he charged at the beast firing at it. Though it didn’t seemed phased by it, and he was hit back again. This time he armed his blades and went after the beast, but he failed to realize that it’s arm had come up from behind Ren; it grabbed ahold of his ankle and he was thrown around like Nora was before, hitting the various buildings and floor forcing him to drop his weapons, and he was roughly thrown to the ground, and rolled right beside Nora; a light was seen shimmering around his body as his aura had broken too. 

 

With effort the two of them sat up, groaning slightly from the pain; Ren’s eyes filled with rage was still focused onto the beast. The Nuckelavee kicked it’s front foot back, once again preparing to charge but towards Ren as it was drawn to him. Right as Ren stood up, Nora tackled him and they both fell just underneath a building, just as the Nukelavee ran towards them with brutal force. With everyone else scattered about, and with Rosario and Scout dealing with Melody they just watched helpless as the Nuckelavee was going to kill them. 

 

“ **REN! NORA!** ” Jaune cried out as he was about to run over to them but was stopped by Roman. 

 

Nora and Ren both shut their eyes, as not want to see it coming towards them, but despite their eyes being closed, there was a sudden flash of light, and no sound of a crash. While the groups jaws just seemingly dropped by who it was, Ren and Nora were left confused as to who had just saved them, since they saw everyone else was where they stood. That’s when they saw it, Roman’s white cape coat fall to the ground as well as a set of bandages stained with red. Ren went over to see who it was, and he was left surprised as was Nora when she saw their savior. 

 

**_It was Cristal_ ** . 

 

Looking better than ever, and her appearance was slightly different

 

Her once short hair, was now longer up to mid back level, though most of was resting on her shoulder revealing her half covered red eye, and on her left shoulder there was a scar where her wound once was. She was holding up the Nuckelavee at its two front feet, with both of her hands changed into hands of a Beowolf. 

 

“Is that…?” Roman said stunned. 

 

“But… It can’t be…” Neo said awestruck as well. 

 

“No way…” Jaune said, his jaw dropped. 

 

“Cristal!” Ruby, Scout and Rosario said with relief as to see her standing up again. Rosario and Scout quickly engaging with the Creature once more, when it charged. 

 

Cristal smiled and managed to hit the Nuckelavee back, making the giant stumble; the claws changed back into her hands. 

 

“I’m back bitches!” Cristal said holding her arms out, “And I’m looking to kick some ass!” 

 

The Nuckelavee let out a roar as it went to attack her with it’s arms. With a snap of her fingers, Cristal teleported away from where she once stood and suddenly appeared on it’s back. “Neat trick!” Cristal said grabbing ahold of it’s horns, “Ah, might as well I can use the new addition anyway, technically still in the recovering process in all.” 

 

The red eye glowed on her back slightly; along her arms faint red lines appeared, and the same lines appeared on it's horns. The Nuckelavee cried out slightly and shook her off, though she jumped off anyway and flipped back to stick the landing. Cristal took a deep breath as she felt energy in her body go through her veins. 

 

“Okay.” She said, stretching her fingers, “Let’s test out this sucker out!” 

 

With her right changing to orange and being coated with black, from her elbows, her arms suddenly became black and slender and long like the Nuckelavee and she used it to attack it. It blocked and countered her with the same moves as her’s. She moved herself with the other arm by grabbing onto a building nearby and flew through the air. Cristal looked to the others and saw that, Ruby, Roman, Jaune, and Neo were still just standing there, in a state of shock. 

 

“ **HEY!** ” She yelled to them, getting their attention, “ **WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR, AN INVITATION!? COME BACK ME UP!** ” 

 

Jaune, Roman and Neo nodded their heads and quickly jumped into the fight. Right when Ruby was about to as well, Cristal teleported in front of her stopping her in her tracks. “Not you.” Cristal said, “Someone else needs your help right now, wouldn’t you agree?” 

 

Ruby at first was confused to what she meant until she noticed Rosario and Scout still trying to fight off the Creature, but both looked equally exhausted. Ruby looked back to Cristal and nodded her head to her. Cristal winked, “Get moving, we’ll hold it off!” She said. 

 

“Got it!” Ruby said. Both teens went their separate ways, with Cristal going to attack the Nuckelavee and Ruby going to the fight with the Creature, just as Rosario and Scout fell to their knees out of exhaustion. The Creature towered over them bearing its fangs and claws and preparing to strike them. Right when it was about to--

 

“ **MELODY! STOP!** ” Ruby yelled.  

 

The Creature turned over to the red hooded girl, holding onto her Crescent Rose. The Creature looked to her and growled, getting low to the ground, as she prepared herself to charge. Than, Ruby did something that Rosario and Scout least expected; taking one glance at her Crescent Rose, before looking back to the Creature, she stood out of her stance, and just tossed her weapon to the side, leaving Scout and Rosario speechless. 

 

“Ruby, what are you doing!?” Scout yelled. 

 

“Are you crazy!? You’re going to get yourself killed!” Rosario yelled. 

 

Ruby looked to them and smiled reassuringly to them, “... She won’t hurt me… I promise…” 

 

She stepped forward towards the Creature actually making it back up, though it still growled at her aggressively. Ruby held up her arms, just to show it that she was unarmed. “Melody… I know your in there…” Ruby said to her gently, “I know you can hear me…” 

 

The Creature continued to growl at her but shook its head slightly as if to try to block her out her voice. Ruby stepped closer to it, as she continued to talk to it, “I just want you to know...  **_I’m not afraid of you_ ** . I can never be afraid of you.” She said to it, as she reached her hand out, “You’re my family, my cousin, one of my best friends… Yang and my secret sister.” 

 

The Creature backed up again and was going to attack her but surprisingly it actually hesitated doing so. Rosario and Scout looked somewhat shocked, but were thankful at the fact that whatever Ruby was doing seemed to be working. 

 

“The Melody I know and love…” Ruby continued to say, “The one I grew up with, is funny, smart, and incredible like my big sister, and that of her dad, my Uncle Qrow. You would stand up for me and Yang, and you even stand up for others like the heroes in the stories. We both dreamed of growing up to be Huntresses, like our parents. And I know for a fact that… ** _You’re not a monster_**. Whatever this now, neither animal nor Grimm, I know this isn’t you… That’s why I’m not afraid of what’s in front of me right now. **_And I never will be_**.” 

 

Finally Ruby was close enough to the Creature, as it still growled. Though it stopped growling and froze when it felt her hand on her furry cheek. Ruby started to pet the Creature as it stayed frozen, just unsure of what to do. This had felt foreign to it, and it wasn’t sure how to react all it knew was it just felt nice. After a few short moments it started to lean into Ruby’s touch. Rosario and Scout soon approached it, and saw that it was longer going to attack them. 

 

“Wow…” Rosario said, “... I can’t believe that worked. She’s herself. Sort of.” 

 

Frosty came out of Ruby’s hood and ran along her arm to the Creature. It flinched slightly at Frosty but sniffed the small fox, as he did the same thing. Soon enough the little fox started to give it an affectionate lick. Scout started to pet the Creature on the head as did Rosario, and it leaned for the touch, “We’re right here Melody. We all are.” Scout said.

 

“We’re never gonna leave you alone.” Rosario added.

 

Ruby smiled to her as she kneeled right in front of her, “... I love you Melody. And I always will. That will never change.” 

 

The Creature started to whimper slightly at Ruby’s words as if Melody was actually trying to cry but couldn’t. Ruby kneeled in front of it as she put her arms around the Creature. Soon enough Rosario and Scout joined in on the hug, and Frosty nuzzled into its neck as his way to comfort the animal.

* * *

 

From a distance, Ren and Nora watched as Cristal, Roman, Neo, and Jaune engaged the Nuckelavee once more, though his eyes were more focused on the beast they were fighting. He felt all the rage, boil his blood at the beast responsible for destroying his home, his village, and taking the way the people he loved most; his own parents. He wouldn’t the Grimm take away his new family, he would make it pay for what it did, he would make sure it would. He would make sure it felt his rage, his anger at what it did, and what it did to Nora. 

 

He was about to join the others in the fight against the Nuckelavee when he felt something grab his wrist. Though he was soon quick to realize that it was Nora. 

 

“Nora, let go!” He said as he did his best to get out of her grip, “They need us!” 

 

Nora didn’t say anything, she just kept her head down and tightened her grip on Ren. He tried and tried to get Nora to let go, but she refused. 

 

“Nora!” He yelled turning to her, “They’re going to get hurt if we don’t--” 

 

**SMACK!**

 

Ren felt his head turn to the side suddenly at a sudden burning sensation on his cheek and he froze. He registered that Nora had smacked him across the face. He looked to her in complete and utter shock at what she did since it was unlike her to do that. Her head was still down and she finally let go of his wrist as she put her hands on her lap. Finally she spoke up.

 

“No.” She said, “I won’t let you kill yourself like this. After everything we’ve been through… After all we’ve faced together… I won’t let it end…” 

 

As Nora finally looked up at Ren he was taken back slightly. For a moment he thought he saw the scared dirty little girl. The same little girl he met on the very same day and night where he had lost his home and loved ones, the same one he told, that they had to be brave. When he blinked the real Nora was there in tears like she was back than. 

 

“... **_Not like this._ ** ” She said her voice cracking slightly.

 

Ren’s eyes widened slightly as he realized the way he acted, the way he had lashed out. He let all of his anger get in the way and he had lost sight of what was most important to him. His very own life. He was supposed to help Ruby with finding answers, and he wanted to find the little one Destiny as much as everyone else and her father did. If he were to die here and now, he would be dying in vein, and he would leave behind the people important to him behind. 

 

How could he be so blind? 

 

With a sigh, he took out from his back compartment what he held onto ever since he was a child; His father’s dagger. He held it in his hands, and Nora placed her hand over the weapon; they both looked into each other's eyes, Nora with a determined look on her face. 

 

“We can do this.” She said to him. 

 

Ren looked Nora in the eyes and nodded in agreement. They both moved out from out under the building with Nora picking up her weapon; just as this happened, Cristal, Roman, Neo and Jaune soon stood beside them, each of them catching their breath. They were soon joined by Ruby, Rosario, Scout, and the Creature itself, AKA Melody, Frosty still being on Ruby’s shoulder. 

 

“Get somewhere safe little guy.” Ruby said to the little fox. Frosty understood her words and jumped from her shoulder, and he quickly went to a safe location. 

 

Cristal than turned to the group, “We won’t be able to take this guy out the old fashioned way. If we can just pin him than we might have a chance.” 

 

They all nodded their heads, except for Ren who still held onto the knife. Ruby turned to him, “Ren.” She said getting his attention, “Jaune, Roman and I can take care of its arms.” 

 

“Neo and I can take care of the horse.” Nora said. 

 

“And I’ll take care of the rest.” Ren said. 

 

Cristal turned to her team members, “Assist them in anyway you can.” 

 

Rosario and Scout both nodded their heads, and all the Creature did was growl as if Melody responded to her. With a plan set, they all went to attack the Nuckelavee once more, with Nora, Neo and Rosario heading to the rooftop of a building nearby. Ruby, Jaune, Roman, and Cristal charged at the Nuckelavee; Ruby and Cristal went to the right, while Roman and Jaune took the left. 

 

Ruby got the Nuckelavee’s attention by firing at it, and as it went to attack, she quickly jumped out of the way and Cristal attacked next. With right blind eye changing to orange, a wing of a Nevermore sprouted from her back and she swung her wing hard and fast; blade like feathers flew from the wing hitting the Nuckelavee making it stumble. It threw it’s arm at her, and Cristal flapped her single wing to move swiftly avoiding the attack. Cristal quickly retracted her wing and a tail of a Deathstalker soon appeared. Ruby jumped onto her tail and Cristal threw into the air. As it tried to retract its arm Ruby fired a round so that she could fall fast; she lodged her blade through her wrist and into the stone ground and it roared with agony. 

 

Ren threw his father’s blade and it hit its side, making the horse act up. 

 

“Hey over here!” Jaune yelled getting its attention. 

 

Jaune stood with his sword in hand and the Nuckelavee turned to him. It launched its other arm towards him, and just before it could hit him, Scout quickly ran to his side and activated her semblance just as her hand touched Jaune’s shoulder. The hand went right through the both of them, and they moved out of the way of the hand. Right before it could retract its hand the Creature jumped right onto the arm, sinking its claws into its arm before biting the arm hard. The Nuckelavee struggled to get out of the Creature's grip and right when it was about to Roman’s hand blade went right through the Nuckelavee’s palm and into the ground keeping it there. 

 

“ **NOW’S YOUR CHANCE!** ” Roman yelled to Jaune. 

 

Jaune nodded his head and Scout fell to her knees having exhausted her energy, though she kept herself from passing out. Jaune ran over to Roman and the Creature’s side and ran his sword through it’s arm to prevent it from moving. 

 

“ **NOW!** ” Ren yelled to the ones above. 

 

From high up in the tower, Neo, Nora and Rosario stood ready to strike. While Neo, and Rosario took a leap Nora just let herself fall backwards with a smile on her face. Rosario did a roundhouse kick, Neo armed her blade, and Neo prepare to hit the beast with her hammer. They all hit the horse at the same time, with Rosario and Neo hitting horse's back and Nora slamming her hammer on the horse's head killing it; the humanoid creature was left just roaring in pain. Ren went to retrieve his knife and he went in front of the humanoid. 

 

Despite its ferocious roar Ren stood his ground with the knife in hand. 

 

“ _ For my mother. _ ” 

 

Ren swung his knife blade and he sliced left arm of the Nuckelavee and it roared loudly. Ren took hold of its horn so that he would hold it still. 

 

“ _ For my father. _ ” 

 

Ren swung his blade again slicing off the Nuckelavee’s right arm and it roared again, slumping forward. 

 

“ _ For all those you’ve slain _ .” 

 

He struck the torso of the Nuckelavee and it once again roared; Ren took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

 

“For  **_myself_ ** .” 

 

With one final strike, Ren sliced the head off of the Nuckelavee finally killing it. It’s whole body and head disappeared in a puff of black smoke. They all took deep breaths and their silence among the group as they watched the body of the Grimm disappear without a trace.

 

“We…” Scout said nodding off slightly, “... We did it…?”

 

Roman went to his knees as he sat down clutching his side feeling dizzy; Neo went to his side, “I think we did…” He said, as he took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair.

 

Nora let out a squee and launched herself onto Ren, hugging him; they both fell to the ground and Nora kicked her legs and Ren hugged her back. The Creature fell flat on it’s stomach catching the whole group by surprising them. In a few short moments the Creature had changed back to the familiar raven black haired girl. “Melody!” Ruby exclaimed as she went over to her; Cristal and Jaune went over to her as well while Rosario helped Scout up off the floor. Frosty came out from his hiding place, and went over to the young girl, pawing at her slightly. Ruby flipped Melody so that she was laying on her back, and she was breathing softly. Cristal kneeled by her side and checked her over.

 

“Is she alright?” Scout asked still nodding off.

 

“She’s okay.” Cristal reassured the group making everyone sigh with relief, “She’s just asleep so don’t worry.” 

 

“I guess now we know why she looked so scared.” Jaune pointed out. 

 

“Yeah, we’re going to have a long talk when she wakes up.” Rosario said as she let Scout lean on her. 

 

Ruby removed her red cloak from her shoulders and placed it over Melody cover her entire body so that the parts exposed were protected from the cold. “Watch her for me.” Ruby said to Jaune. He nodded his head, and Ruby ran off to where Qrow was. Just as she did, Cristal went to stand up, but fell back suddenly landing on the ground again, the whole group noticed this. 

 

“Are you alright?” Ren asked with him and Nora standing up. 

 

“Yeah I’ll be fine.” Cristal replied, “My body is still in the recovering phase and I really did a number on it. Probably wasn’t a good idea to jump into the fight like that but it was worth it.” 

 

“Recovering phase?” Neo said questioningly. 

 

“How the hell are you even here?” Rosario asked, “You had a high fever from an infection and were in so much pain that you couldn’t even move.” 

 

“Actually I was wondering that myself.” Jaune said, “Not that we’re all happy to see you on your feet, but, just how is that even possible?” 

 

“And how is your hair longer?” Nora asked. 

 

Cristal replied with a shrug, “To be honest… I don’t know myself. I mean, usually the only way for my body to recover is if I threw myself into the Abyss, though… Seeing as how we’re kind of out in the middle of nowhere, that’s impossible. So… I’m just as clueless as you guys are.” 

 

It wasn’t long before they realized that someone was missing from the group. “Hey uh…” Roman said, “Where’s your Griffon friend Senka?” 

 

Just as this was said, they heard the sound of small squawk just nearby. They turned at the sound and their eyes widened again. 

 

“What the--!?” Rosario said with shock. 

 

There they saw a small Grimm griffon standing before the group, letting out a couple of small squawks. Cristal’s eyes widened with realization when she put two and two together. The group had put two and two together as well. 

 

“No way is that…” Rosario said. 

 

“Senka…?” Scout shocked. 

 

“Is that really Senka?” Jaune said. 

 

“He shrunk.” Ren said surprised. 

 

“... Oh my goodness…” Nora said, before exclaiming, “... He looks so cute!!” 

 

Cristal stood up from the ground and went over to the now small Griffon and the group watched. She bent down and picked up the little Grimm Griffon and held him. “I see now…” Cristal said, holding him at arm's length, “... It was you. Your the one that helped me. You risked your own safety, your very own life so that I could live…” 

 

Cristal smiled to the Grimm and pulled him in for a hug, “... I would’ve died today if it hadn’t been for you… Thank you my friend.” Senka let out another small squawk as he nuzzled her cheek making her laugh a little, and the group couldn’t help but smile at this as the Griffon continued to nuzzle her cheek. 

 

Roman looked in the direction where Ruby ran off to, having a look of worry. “Neo.” Roman said, getting her attention, “... Help me up.” 

 

Neo nodded, and put his arm around her shoulders and lifted him from off the ground. Together they walked in the direction where Ruby had gone off to. It take them long to find her as they saw her kneeling beside her uncle in the alleyway; she was quiet, a little too quiet for their taste. 

 

“Red?” Roman called out making the young girl flinch. 

 

Ruby turned to Roman with a look of relief on her face, though he still saw the fear in her eyes. “Is he…?” 

 

Ruby shook her head before saying, “He’s still with us… But he’s still…” 

 

“Poisoned.” Roman finished for her, “Yeah, I know.” 

 

“Just be glad he held out.” Neo said trying to lighten the mood, “He’s strong. For a Huntsman.” Ruby managed to crack a small smile at this, but it had soon fell from her face. They soon heard a groan coming from the Huntsman himself, Qrow, and they turned to him. They his eyes open slightly, as he turned to face Ruby. 

 

“... It’s quiet…” He managed to say before smiling, “... Good job kiddo…” 

 

Ruby couldn’t help but give out a small laugh and gave her uncle a hug. “We’ll get you to Mistral. Somehow, someway.” Ruby said to him reassuringly though mostly, it was to reassure herself. “It’s gonna be a long walk, but we’ll manage.” Roman said groaning slightly from his wound. 

 

“Yay, more walking…” Neo said sarcastically. 

 

Soon enough they heard something that had caught their ears, which drew their attention towards it; they were left perplexed by it. The rest of the group heard the sounds too, and they listened to the sounds. “What is that noise?” Jaune asked. 

 

“Wait a minute…” Rosario said, “That almost sounds like--” 

 

From out of the clouds they saw what had made the sounds. It was airships, and the whole group was left relieved at this when they saw the logo to where the airships were from. “Mistral…” Nora said with a smile, “They’re from Mistral!” 

 

The whole group couldn’t help but let out a cheer at this when they saw the airships touch the ground; Ruby, Roman and Neo, heard the group cheering and saw the airships land. Ruby felt relief wash over her as did Roman and Neos seeing as how they weren’t going to have to walk the rest of the way, especially since most of the group was in no condition in doing so. Two men came around the corner of the alleyway and tended to Qrow, getting him onto one of there stretchers. Two others had done the same for Melody and they got them both onto the ship, with Ruby following behind to be with her uncle and cousin. One of the men attended to Roman’s injury, and managed to get the bleeding to stop and he had gotten onto the same ship Ruby had gone on, with Neo, Cristal and Jaune; Cristal was able to hide Senka with Roman’s white cape coat and she carried him like how a mother would hold a baby. Rosario, Scout, Nora and Ren went onto the other airship and they took to the skies once everyone was onboard. 

 

Ruby sat in between Qrow and Melody, holding onto both of their hands while Frosty laid on Melody’s stomach curled up with his ears down. Roman and Neo sat on the bench nearby on the ship while Cristal sat along the ledge of the airship still holding Senka who was now fast asleep having a blanket of her own over her shoulders and Jaune was standing up holding onto a steel bar provided. 

 

“How did you find us?” Jaune asked the Mistral Pilot. 

 

The Mistral Pilot replied, “We were on patrol and saw the smoke. Nobody’s been out here for years, thought something might be wrong.” 

 

“Well you weren’t wrong.” Roman said, “I’m not even sure how we made it out of there.” 

 

“Not to worry.” The Pilot reassured them, “Once we get to Mistral we’ll have you and your friends treated.” 

 

Ruby looked to Qrow still with a worried look as she tightened her grip on his hand. “What if we don’t make it time?” She said. 

 

“Ruby it’s okay…” Jaune said, “We’ll get there… I hope…” 

 

Cristal turned to them with a smile, “Guys… You may wanna see this.” Ruby, Jaune, Roman and Neo looked and they were left in awe by the view. There it was before their very eyes was the flourishing city of Mistral, where they saw many house on the cliffside and beautiful waterfalls as far as the eye can see. They were just left speechless by how the scenery looked, how beautiful the city of Mistral was. Ruby looked to Qrow and Melody finally with a warm smile; taking one of Melody’s hands she placed it on top of Qrow's and she still kept her hand on top of her cousins. She felt Qrow tighten his grip on her’s and his daughter which made Ruby’s smile grow wider.

 

“We made it Melody…” Ruby said with a smile, “We made it Uncle Qrow…” 

In the other airship Scout slept soundly on the bench recovering her strength, while Rosario, Nora and Ren sat along the edge of the airship just enjoying the breathtaking view of the city. “This is amazing…” Rosario said with a smile, “... I can’t believe we’re finally here…” 

 

“It took a long time.” Nora said, “But we did it…” 

 

“Yeah…” Rosario said, “We did… We’re just step closer now, to finding out the truth.” 

 

“... And finding Destiny…” Nora added with a smile. 

 

Nora had soon jumped slightly when she felt an odd sensation. She looked and was surprised to see that Ren’s hand was over her own. Smiling she took his hand and their finger intertwined with each other, and she looked up to Ren who was smiling as well. Nora scooted over and rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers. 

 

“Aww, how cute…” Rosario couldn’t help but say earning a laugh from the three of them. 

 

In a few short moments the airships landed in the city and they were escorted to where they would be staying during their time in Mistral. 

 

( **_Ending Theme: I’m Waiting for the Rain TV Sized Performed by Maaya Sakamoto_ ** )


	20. When I'm With You I'm Home

- ** _Three Days Later_ ** -

 

A short time had passed since teams RNJR and CRMS along with Roman and Neo had arrived at their destination, and they all took this as an opportunity to relax after how long it had taken them all to get where they were now. They all did enjoy that they had the perfect opportunity to collect their thoughts and to gather their energy after the many battles they fought together as one. Some of them had to admit, the road was long, and even tough on them both physically, mentally and even emotionally, but they were able to pull through, because they had each other, and that was all that mattered. Now that they were all here they wanted to savoir their small victory since it had all been worth it in the end, despite the obstacles they had faced.

 

Currently, Nora, Ren, Rosario and Scout were all playing cards in one of the joined rooms they were currently staying in during their time in Mistral. They all sat around a bed, with Rosario only having one leg since her prosthetic was currently being repaired, and they were playing a game of poker and they were betting with various snacks and or candy they had gotten on their travels and the now little Grimm Griffon was curled up on the other bed and was fast asleep. They were studying the cards in their hands carefully as they looked to each other not knowing who was holding what in their hands.

 

Rosario smirked at what she had in her hand, “I raise three chocolate bars.” Rosario said pushing three chocolate bars in the middle.

 

“I fold.” Scout said gathering the cards in her hand.

 

“Can’t me out of this one.” Ren said putting his cards on the bed.

 

“I raise you three lollipops.” Nora said pushing some lollipops into the center.

 

“Oh, getting bold are we?” Rosario said with a raised eyebrow, “Well we’ll see about that…”

 

With a smirk on her face Rosario laid down the cards she had face up in front of her; there were four cards that had the same number. “Read’em and weep, four of kind.” Rosario said triumphantly as she went to take the candy from the middle. Though she stopped when Nora placed the cards that she had in her hand and had put Rosario into shock.

 

She had a Royal Straight Flush.

 

“ **WHAT AND HOW?!** ” Rosario exclaimed.

 

“Woohoo!” Nora cheered as she took the candy in the middle, “I win the pot!”

 

Rosario groaned at this, as she fell back into the bed. “I don’t believe it, that’s the sixth time she won this round!” Scout said.

 

“That’s not fair!” Rosario said before saying to Nora as she sat back up, “You said you never played before!”

 

“You’re just upset because I beat you at poker!” Nora said sticking her tongue out at her.

 

“On the bright side, at least we’re not playing with real money.” Ren said.

 

“Yeah I would’ve lost everything I had in my wallet if that were the case.” Rosario said as she fell back onto the bed. They heard the door open and Cristal stepped through, though they saw her in a new outfit. Instead of her usual outfit, she was now wearing short a burnt umber jacket with a light brown collar and a black belt just underneath her breast line.

 

Her right sleeve stopped at her elbow and had a black belt wrapped around her elbow and a fingerless glove on her hand. There was no sleeve on the left side of her jacket, revealing the scar on her left shoulder though underneath her jacket she had on a dark gray shirt that slanted on the left side and had a long sleeve on her left arm, and a purple bracelet around her wrist, with a black buckle belt around her other elbow; sports bandages were seen around her upper arm covering the tip of her scar and around her chest stopping at her neck. She wore green pants along with brown buckles around around her knees and a pair of brown boots and black buckles just around her boots. They were surprised as ever when they saw that her hair was tied back.

 

Though they were left speechless by her appearance anyway. “Damn!” Rosario said, “Love the new outfit!”

 

“Oh my goodness, I knew you said you wanted your jacket back, but I didn’t think you would modify it.” Scout said, “It looks really good on you.”

 

“Thanks, I found someone in the city that was an expert on stuff like this.” Cristal said, “They did a really good job on it. Thought it was about time I change my look. It actually get’s tiring to wear the same outfit, especially if you wear it for two whole years plus a few months.”

 

“I thought knowing you, you would’ve wanted to cut your hair short.” Ren said.

 

“Yeah well… I decided to keep it like this.” She said, “I think I look better with long hair anyway.”

 

Senka perked up and flew from the bed, landing on her shoulders, and wrapping his tail around her neck as if he was a lemur. Cristal couldn’t help but giggle as she pat Senka on the beak and scratched him on the head. “You know something, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Senka this attached to you before.” Scout pointed out.

 

“Seems kind of odd, especially for a Grimm, no offense.” Nora said.

 

“None taken.” Cristal said Senka started to nuzzle her cheek and did some kind of purr, “And I guess after my near death experience a certain someone here is getting a little protective.”

 

Senka let out a growl to her, talking to her again, and Cristal couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Oh shut up, you know it’s true Sen.” Cristal said to him with a smile.

 

She soon noticed that the bed had a set of cards, “Were you guys playing a game?”

 

“Yes, we were playing poker.” Scout replied, “And Nora ended up winning the candy pot.”

 

“Six candy pots to be precise.” Ren added.

 

“Honestly I don’t know how she does it.” Rosario said, “And she said, she never played the game before. I’d still say she made up that lie.”

 

“Or maybe it’s because I’m very lucky!” Nora said still with a smile.

 

Cristal couldn’t help but laugh at this. “Seems like it’s one hell of a game.” She said amusingly.

 

“You try playing poker with this girl and tell me I’m wrong!” Rosario said to her partner.

 

Cristal held up her hands at this, “I think I’d rather take your word for it.”

 

“It’s best if you do.” Ren said with an amused smile.

 

Cristal soon looked around the room, even taking a peek into one of the other joined rooms. “I take it the others aren’t back yet from the hospital?” Cristal asked turning back to them.  

 

“No, not yet.” Rosario said, “Ruby did say they had to make a few stops before seeing them.”

 

“And she also said they could be awhile before they came back.” Nora said.

 

Cristal raised an eyebrow at this, “... What about the Huntsman? Qrow was his name right? Did he wake up yet?”

 

Ren shook his head, “He’s still resting. Guess the poison must’ve done a number on him.”

 

“Well considering that poison was in his blood for sometime, and we didn’t notice it sooner, it’ll take awhile before he’ll wake up again.” Scout said, “But, he’ll recover nonetheless since we got lucky.”

 

The whole group noticed that the expression on Scout’s face when she said this. She had the look of guilt in her face and eyes, and they looked at her with worry. “Scout…” Rosario said, “There’s no way you could’ve known he had the poison in the first place.”

 

“We all didn’t know about it until the last second.” Nora said to her.

 

“But I should’ve known.” Scout said to them, “... I was born into a tribe of thieves and murderers. I would’ve been just like them, my mom and dad if Teacher hadn’t found me. Instead of being taught how to take a life and prey on the innocent, I was taught to protect, and save people with the gifts I was born with. And I almost let not one but two people die on my watch, because I didn’t see it sooner and I wasn’t prepared, and I’m supposed to be a Healer, a doctor, and they’re supposed to be prepared for anything.”

 

The group looked to her still with concern as Scout’s ears go down. They couldn’t imagine how hard it was on her; to have the weight of someone else’s life on your shoulders. They could tell it had taken a toll on her, mentally and emotionally speaking. They could tell that she was blaming herself for what could’ve happened, what could’ve been, if Mistral’s patrol hadn’t found them in time, and if Senka didn’t act in time to save Cristal’s life. They all could see it in her face, despite everything turning out alright in the end, she still couldn’t help but feel guilty.

 

Finally, Cristal let out a sigh as she said, “Listen Scout… We may not know exactly how it feels what your going through… And… I think it’s safe to say that we know what it’s like to doubt yourself, and feel like you’ve let someone down. It’s awful to feel that way, but you know something… Mistakes are always bound to happen. Even people like doctors make them. And there’s a benefit to making them, despite how bad it can get. You can learn from them.”

 

“Even so…” Scout said, “Even so, I should’ve come more prepared. I should’ve had more pain medication to at least help with you and Qrow.”

 

“Scout…” Rosario said, putting her hand on her shoulder, “... You can’t just see into the future and know what’s going to happen. I know you won’t let this happen the next time a problem like this comes our way, because the next time you’ll be prepared.”   


“But what if I’m not?” The Fox Fanus asked, “What if it happens again, and I’m not able to help you?”

 

“Than you’ll just do what doctors and healers do best.” Ren said with a smile, “... You’ll improvise.”

 

“Hey, I was going to say that!” Rosario said to Ren.

 

Cristal, Nora, Ren and Rosario couldn’t help but laugh and Scout started to laugh only after a few moments. Soon after they stopped laughing and they all heaved out a sigh. Cristal said to her, “Though just a little thing you gotta remember, you’re still a kid, in fact we all are, so, we’re still learning, even a person like me, and I’ve technically lived longer than anyone else.”

 

“... I guess so.” Scout said, “Though it couldn’t hurt to actually have help to know what exactly I’m going to go up against.”

 

“Than it wouldn’t be a surprise, I think that’s the fun with not knowing what comes next.” Rosario said with a smile.

 

They heard Nora let out a gasp of realization and they couldn’t help but turn to her. They saw the expression on her face, and they were confused by it, but only slightly. Nora said pointing over to Cristal, “You’ve lived longer than us?! So than… How old are you?”

 

They all turned to Cristal and they raised their eyebrows to her, actually wondering the same thing she was. Cristal gave Nora a simple smirk. She placed a finger to her lips as she replied, “That’s a little secret.”

* * *

 - ** _Meanwhile; Mistral Hospital_ ** -

 

Ruby had never seen the hospital so packed in the waiting room; occasionally at times she would visit the hospital with Melody to see Qrow when he barely made it on one of his mission, and even to see her mom before she passed away, though she had never seen so many people in one place. Most of the people looked like they were family or friends or even lovers waiting to hear something from whoever had been hospitalized. Ruby couldn’t imagine what they were going through, as she watched some of the people that were waiting in tears, but she had hoped whoever it was they were waiting for were alright.

 

Ruby, along Jaune, and Neo had approached the front desk with a couple of bags in the hands of Ruby and Neo, and got the room numbers that they needed. The room numbers to both Melody and Roman’s room. Shortly after arriving in Mistral both of them had been admitted to hospital, due to what they had both endured. Roman receive proper treatment after having opened it at least twice during their fight with the Nuckelavee, so he had to get the proper stitches, but needed to stay in the hospital until his wound had fully healed. As for Melody, Ruby had explained to the doctors that she had been hit in the head hard and was put into some sort of shock. When they checked on her, they had told Ruby and the others that the impact she had endured should’ve killed her, but they were all surprised when the doctor had told them she had only had a mild concussion.

 

They couldn’t help but wonder, if it had anything to do with the Creature they had seen Melody turn into. Though they wouldn’t know for sure until they asked.

 

The three made their way on the third floor where they both were, and luckily they had been staying in the same room. They made their way down the hall though it seemed like the hall was getting longer at least in Jaune’s perspective anyway. Ruby noticed how tense Jaune was, “... You okay?” She asked.

 

“I’m just a little nervous about what Melody might say…” Jaune said, “I don’t even know if she’s still mad after what I said.”

 

“You can’t honestly think that after all we’ve been through.” Neo said.   


“... I can’t help it.” Jaune said to Neo, “It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of days. I want to apologize to her sure, but… I just don’t know what she’ll say.”

 

“It’ll be okay Jaune.” Ruby reassured him with a smile, “She’ll listen to whatever you have to say. She always listen.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“Because I grew up with her, remember? She always listens to whatever anyone has to say even when she was busy with something, and I’ll bet you anything she’ll make an acception for you too.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“... Of course I do.”

 

They had gotten to room 385 where Roman and Melody were, and the three of them entered without a second thought. Though they were all a bit surprised when they only found Roman sitting in the room by the window with the chair provided wearing a plain white short sleeved shirt and long pants and a pair gray of slippers. Roman noticed that they entered the room. “Hey there. It’s nice of you guys to finally pay a visit.” Roman said.

 

“Nice to see that you’ve missed us.” Neo said amusingly.

 

“How are you feeling?” Ruby asked him.

 

“Better than I was two days ago.” Roman replied, patting his side gently, “Doctors here really worked wonders. They told me, with plenty of rest in the next couple of days I’ll be out of here.”

 

“That’s good.” Jaune said, “At least we don’t have to worry now.”

 

Ruby looked around the room a bit worriedly when she didn’t see her cousin anywhere. “Where’s Melody?” Ruby asked Roman.

 

Roman didn’t say anything but pointed to his left over where a balcony was, and they saw Melody out their, sitting in a chair with her feet on the table and wearing a robe gray robe and had bandages wrapped around her skull; she had on the same kind of white shirt and pants that Roman did and she appeared to be writing in a book and had her back turned, not even realizing that they were in the room. “She woke up awhile ago Red.” He explained, “Doctor explained that her concussion wasn’t anything too serious, and wouldn’t worry about any brain damage. But just to be on the safe side, they’re going to perform some tests and an MRI later in the afternoon.”

 

“... Did… She say anything to you?” Jaune asked a bit hesitantly.

 

“Well, after the Doctor left I tried to make conversation, but she said she wanted some time to herself. She’s been out there writing ever since.” Roman replied, before turning over to Ruby, “But… I think she needs someone she’s more comfortable with to talk to. You know, considering what happened…”

 

Ruby looked over to Melody her face, looking concerned. She let out a sigh, “I’ll go and talk to her.” Ruby said, “I’ll be right back.”

 

“Take your time.” Neo said.

 

“We’ll just be in here waiting.” Jaune said.

 

Ruby approached the door and was hesitant to open it; she took a deep breath and reached for the handle, turning it. She slide the door open slightly not wanting to startle her as she continued writing. Ruby took a closer look one the paper and saw that it was musical notes. Ruby shut the door behind her, as quietly as possible. “Is that a new song your writing?” Ruby asked making Melody flinched slightly.

 

Melody turned and her expression brightened slightly when she saw her. She but the book down on the chair as she stood up, “Ruby.” She said as she hugged her and Ruby hugged her back, “It’s so good to see you.”

 

“It’s great to see you too.” Ruby said, as they both broke out of the hug, “How are you?”

 

“About as good as can be expected.” Melody replied, “It doesn’t help that I have a slight ache in my head, but other than that everything checks out.”

 

“I heard from Roman, what the doctor said.” Ruby had said, “I’m glad to hear that nothing’s wrong.”

 

“Me too, who knows, they might let me out of here earlier than expected.” Her cousin said with a smile. Though the smile disappeared when she asked, “Is my dad okay?”

 

Ruby nodded, “Uncle Qrow is going to be fine. He’s resting over by where we’re going to be staying.”

 

Ruby saw her sigh with relief, “Thank God, I was so worried.” She said, almost tearing up, “I thought I was going to lose him.”

 

“You know how he is. He’s too stubborn to let something like poison stop him.” Ruby said with a smile, “Reminds me of a certain someone I know.” Melody and Ruby both exchanged in a giggle at this, though it wasn’t long till they heard rustling in the bag Ruby was carrying. “Oh whoops, I almost forgot.” Ruby said putting the bag down, “I bought a friend with me to see you.”

 

Melody raised an eyebrow, but saw a familiar little white fox pop out of the bag, with his ears perking up. “Frosty!” Melody said bending down to pick him up. Frosty jumped in her hands slight and immediately started to lick her cheek when she bought him close to her, “Aw, I’m happy to see you too buddy!”

 

“I know they don’t usually allow animals in hospitals, but… Frosty really wanted to see you. He wouldn’t stop whining after they bought you here when we landed.” Ruby said.

 

“Well I appreciate you taking care of him Ruby. Sorry Frosty for making you worry about me.” Melody said, as she felt Frosty rest on her shoulder. The minute Melody looked into the eyes of her cousin, and noticed a certain look on her face that had her concerned. “Ruby?” Melody asked, “... What is it?”

 

“... Why…?” Was all Ruby asked.

 

Melody looked at her with confusion, “Huh?”

 

“... We all saw what you turned into when we were fighting the Grimm after we thought it…” Ruby said stopping herself for a moment before continuing, “… When you snapped at Jaune I get why you looked so scared… I just want to know, why? Why couldn’t you just tell us? Tell me about it?”

 

Melody turned away from Ruby and didn’t say anything, and Frosty whimpered slightly worried about his friend. Melody sat down in her seat, as she buried her face in her hands. Ruby kneeled in front of her, “Please Melody. I want to know why. Why would you keep something like this from your own friends, your own family? After everything we’ve gone through, I don’t want any more secrets between any of us… So please… I need you to tell me Melody, why keep something like that a secret?”

 

Melody turned to her slightly before replying, “... To be honest… I thought it would be obvious…”

 

Ruby looked to her cousin with confusion, “... Huh? Obvious? What do you mean?”

 

“... You saw the Creature for yourself.” Melody said, “You saw how it came after you and the others, after you tried to stop it to get through to me.”

 

Ruby’s eyes widened slightly, “... You mean you actually saw what was happening? Even after you turned into--”

 

“The Creature?” Melody finished before replying, “... Unfortunately I did. It’s cruel, but I did see it all. And I remember every single thing that happened while it was out, and most of the things the Creature does whenever its out is horrible and gruesome. Trust me, you haven’t seen it at its worst, and I hope you don’t.”

 

Ruby took a seat beside her and placed her hand over hers, “Please Melody… You have to tell me more.”

 

Melody took a deep breath and allowed Frosty to go onto her lap. Finally after brief moments of hesitation she looked over to Ruby, “... Do you remember when we were kids when I first got my semblance?”

 

“Of course I do.” Ruby replied, “You would always use your semblance to beat us in tag or hide and seek.”

 

Melody chuckled slightly at this and sat back in her seat, “... Yeah well, those were the days.”

 

Ruby laughed a little too at the memories, “I remember how you used to scare me and Yang. You were always able to find really good hiding places in almost any animal, and how fast you were able to catch us when we played tag… But than, you just kind of stopped using them. I remember, Yang and I asked why you stopped, but you never gave your answer.”

 

“... That’s because by than, I started to hate the semblance I got.” Melody said to Ruby surprising her, “ **_And I still do_ **. You didn’t know this Ruby, but at a time I thought having a semblance was a gift to the lucky few, and most of them are in a way. You can do amazing things with them, whether it would be handy in tricky situations, or help you or friends in battle, or even hide yourself in plain sight with them. So when I got my shape-shifting semblance… Boy was I happy as a kid would be on Christmas. I could be anything I could think of. I could take to the skies and soar above the clouds, run as fast as any animal on the planet, climb great heights to even the tallest trees, or even breath underwater. But… That all changed the day when we went to the park in Patch.”

 

Ruby recalled that memory from when they were children. She remembered, she, Yang and Melody herself were spending their whole day at the park, just playing games. Either tag, hide and seek or a game that they made up at the top of their heads. She even remembered the bullies that were picking on a fanus girl that was about her age at the time, and how Melody stood up to them. It was strange to her though; she didn’t remember seeing Melody until a few days later when she noticed she had seemed different to her. Even as a child Ruby could tell than that Melody wasn’t her usual cheerful self, in fact… She just seemed to grow timid suddenly as if she had always been that way. Ruby back than found it odd, but didn’t feel the need to ask, but she had to know now.

 

“Melody…” Ruby said to her, “... Please, tell me what happened…”

 

Melody turned away from Ruby avoiding to make eye contact once again, but she had replied with slight hesitation, “... Those older kids, after they pushed you and I saw you start to cry… **_That’s when the Creature first showed itself_ ** . Before I knew what was happening, I was sinking my teeth into the poor kids neck, and my nails-- **_its_ ** claws went deep within his stomach. I would’ve killed him hadn’t not been for his protective mother. I was terrified with what I did, so horrified in fact I just ended up running without even saying a word to him or his parents.”

 

Ruby silently gasped at this, and prevented herself from thinking to the image, the scenario which Melody had described. She had no idea that her cousin had to go through such an ordeal, sure she and Yang remembered hearing children screaming, but she had no idea Melody, no this Creature was the cause of it. It must’ve been traumatic for her, is what Ruby thought.

 

Melody continued on, “You see… The Creature has this crazy need for blood, it doesn’t just lust for it, it craves for it. With every chance it gets whenever it comes out, it’ll attack the nearest living thing in sight, and it won’t care who it hurts and the lives it ruins. It won’t even matter if it’s my own friends and family. It especially likes to attack anyone close to me… When it does start to show up, it makes me aggressive and violent, to the point where I could kill someone, even before it fully takes control…”

 

Ruby noticed Melody’s hand start to shake, and soon felt something wet hit her hand. Ruby soon realised that Melody had started to cry; Frosty noticed this to, and started to lick her fingers in an attempt to comfort her. Melody continued but this time she was struggling to get her words out.

 

“... Do you wanna know… The worst part about what the Creature does to me…?” Melody asked, though she didn’t expect Ruby to answer as she had just stayed silent, “... The blood lust it feels… It’s craving for its endless hunger of it… **_It makes me want it too_ ** … It makes me think, that I should kill those I see… It makes me want to rid of people that hurt you and Yang… It makes me think that those that insult me, that piss me off, that say hurtful things about our family… It makes me think that they deserve to be killed… **_And I’ve always hated myself for letting that temptation get to me…_ ** ”

 

Ruby felt Melody’s hand tighten around hers as she buried her face in her other hand, in an attempt to stop her tears, though, she had no such luck in trying. They just kept falling from her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks before finally hitting her hand and the fabric of her shirt. Ruby looked to her cousin with worry as she sniffled and sobbed. Never before had she seen her cousin like this, just right at this moment her tough girl persona just seemed to fly right out the window. Seeing her this way, it was hard on Ruby and even Melody herself in general. The tough girl who would always stand up for others, that would defend anyone who was being picked on, who would go with the flow with everything, even smile in situations when battling with Grimm, now looked, broken apart. All because of a Creature that she had no control over. Ruby put her arms around Melody and pulled her close as she cried.

 

“... I was scared to tell you both about it…” Melody said through her sobs, “... I was scared to tell Uncle Tai… I didn’t just leave to find Yang’s mom… I left because I thought I would be protecting you all… I didn’t want it to one day come out, and than have it hurt one of you or worse… I would never forgive myself if I had just let it--”

 

Melody just stopped herself, not wanting to say anything more, as Ruby patted her on the back as her way to comfort her, and they both sat like this for awhile, with Melody now leaning into Ruby’s embrace and Frosty just nuzzled into her stomach in a comforting way. After what had seemed like hours Melody had finally broke the silence, “... I heard what you said…”

 

“Huh?” Ruby said a little confused.

 

“... When the Creature was out… When I was trapped in my own head…” Melody said, “... I heard you… There’s something I want to know… I just want this one question answered…”

 

“Y--yeah sure…” Ruby said with a bit of hesitation.

 

Melody turned her head slightly to look at the red hooded girl, slowing getting herself out of Ruby’s arms, “... When you said you weren’t scared of me… That I wasn’t a monster like the Creature… Did you… Did you really mean it…?”

 

Ruby looked a bit surprised to hear that, but soon replied, “Of course I did. I know who you are Melody, and I know that your not the monster that you think you are. Like I told you, you’re amazing like Yang is, and I can tell that you take a lot after Uncle Qrow. The Creature is not you and it never will be, and I’ll always love you no matter what.”

 

Melody couldn’t help but smile and her tears were not were of sadness but were of joy. She pulled Ruby back into the hug, surprising her, but Ruby had ultimately returned it shortly after she snapped back into reality.

 

“... You have no idea…” Melody said, through her tears, “... No idea how much what you said means to me Ruby…”

 

“Oh don’t worry…” Ruby said patting her on the back, “... I think I have a pretty good idea…”

 

Ruby and her pushed out of the hug; Melody was finally able to wipe away her tears, from her face, and Frosty climbed back up onto her shoulder licking her cheek.

 

“Frosty’s not scared of you either.” Ruby said with a small smile, “He knows that your not the Creature too.”

 

“Go figure.” Melody said scratching the back of Frosty’s ear, and Frosty leaned in for her touch.

 

“... Just out of curiosity…” Ruby said getting her attention before asking, “... Are you going to be able to tell the others? Like you know, explain the Creature to them?”

 

Melody nodded her head in reply, “... When I’m out of this hospital I’ll tell them. After what they’ve seen and after what we’ve been through, they have a right to know… But before all that… Jaune didn’t come with you by any chance?”

 

“Yeah, he’s just inside along with Neo.” Ruby replied, “... Why?”

 

Melody didn’t say anything, instead she just stood up taking her notebook with her, and went back into the room with Ruby following behind her. When they stepped inside, Jaune seemed to have tensed up when he saw Melody as she placed her notebook on the table nearby. She stepped forward just standing in front of Jaune, and all he did was gulp; for a moment he turned over to Roman, Neo, and Ruby who was now standing beside them.

 

“Go on Arky.” Roman said as he motioned him to talk, “Say what you want to say.”

 

“Your a big boy, you can do it.” Neo encouraged.

 

“R--right.” Jaune stammered before taking a deep breath; he than turned back to Melody as he started to say, “Listen Melody… About what I said to you before, when your dad told us about, why all of this is happening in the first place… I know I upset you with what I said, and I just want to say that--”

 

“I’m sorry.” Melody suddenly said cutting him off.

 

“Huh?” Jaune, Roman, Neo, and Ruby said at the same time, just confused as to why she would apologize.

 

Melody continued as she rubbed her elbow, “... I’m sorry for the way I acted, and for hitting you on the head. It’s just… What you said about me, about not going back home after what happened to Beacon to see if Ruby and Yang were alright… I didn’t want to listen because most of what you said was true and I just denied it. Trust me, I was concerned after I saw the news, before the CCT was destroyed, and I wanted to go back to see them but… To be honest, I’ve been away from home for two whole years. I was scared… Of what Yang, my uncle and at the time Ruby… I was scared of what they would think of me. All I did to keep in touch with them was either texts or video chats, and I didn’t even attempt to make a home visit. I was scared that they would hate me, and resent for leaving the way I did, but I did what I thought was the right thing… Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like what you said about me… But that’s no excuse for the way I acted… So… I’m sorry Jaune, and I hope you find in your heart to forgive me.”

 

There was silence in the room they were standing in, and Jaune took in the words that Melody had said. Although--

 

“No.” Jaune said, making Melody look up, “... If anything I’m the one who should be sorry for what I said to you… The night that Qrow told us everything, I was just so angry. I… We lost a lot when Beacon fell, including someone very dear to us. I didn’t realize that Pyrrha had gone through so much with the responsibility she chose to take… And I blamed it on him because I thought it was his fault about what happened to her, that he forced her to become a Maiden. But you were right about what you said. No one ever said she was forced to do it, and she was given a choice… I realize now, that no one was at fault for what happened to her, and maybe I was just angry at myself and felt the need to take it out on Qrow, and even you too. Your personal life and your dad’s is none of my business, and I should’ve been more careful of what I said about him and you. I didn’t mean to say all those things, I didn’t know what I was thinking… So, I’m really sorry Melody… And I hope you can forgive me.”

 

Melody’s eyes widened slightly by what Jaune said, and she couldn’t help but chuckle which had caught him off guard. “Guess we both have something to be sorry about.” Melody said with a smile, before holding her hand out to him, “...So than, yeah, I’m sorry and I forgive you… We can still be friends, right?”

 

Jaune looked to Melody and smiled at her, before taking her hand and shaking it, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

“Welp.” Roman said, “I’m glad that problem solved itself.”

 

“It’s about time you two made up, thought it was gonna be a contest of who chickened out first.” Neo said to Jaune and Melody, making the two of them, turn to her. “Neo!” Melody said, her face turning red slightly with embarrassment.

 

“You completely killed the moment!” Jaune said to her.

 

“Hey, I was criminal remember?” Neo said with an innocent look, “I’m supposed to do things like kill the moment.”

 

The three of them started to argue amongst each other and Roman couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and Ruby just shook her head and smiled, just glad that everyone was able to make up with each other. It wasn’t long before she remembered something. “Oh wait, I almost forgot! Again!” Ruby said as she started to go through her skirt pocket, and Roman gave a quizzical look in her direction. It wasn’t long before she took out a familiar lighter and held it to him.

 

“Here.” Ruby said, “You can have your lighter back. It’s your good luck charm after all, and I already have one of my own.”

 

Roman looked to Ruby before looking to his lighter that laid in the palm of her hand. He reached out to take the lighter, though… Ruby was surprised as ever as instead of taking the lighter, he placed his hand over her fingers, and let them curled back around the small lighter. This only left Ruby perplexed at this and she looked up to him.

 

“Change of plans Red.” Roman said to her patting her hand, “I’ll let you hold onto it a little longer. You can give it back to me, when this is all over.”

 

“You…” Ruby said, “... You would really trust me to hold onto this?”

 

“Look…” Roman said, adjusting his seat, “... It took me a long while to get used to traveling with you and your friends, and… It was pretty difficult I’ll admit. But, like you said… We’re friends now. And if I can trust you with my life, than I sure as hell can trust you with my lighter, at least, now that we’re used to one another.”

 

Ruby looked even more shocked, but she eventually smiled and looked to the lighter before, giving Roman a hug, once again surprising him. Roman let out a sigh as he went to return the hug, “Geez Red. You’re just secretly a hugger, aren’t you?” He said jokingly.

 

“I thought you’d be used to it by now.” Ruby replied, making Roman chuckle a bit.

* * *

 - ** _Sometime Ago_ ** -

 

_The very next morning the whole group took the trouble of burying the body they had found in the old abandoned house they had stayed in to avoid the rain. All of them were still equally horrified to what they had seen and what they discovered in the house that belonged to a known doctor. They dressed in their normal attire after giving the night to dry, and were all preparing themselves to move onto the next town or village to get where they needed to go. Nora and Scout stretched her arms and took in the fresh air._

 

_“This feels so nice.” Scout said, “Never thought that rain would let up.”_

 

_“The sun feels so nice on my skin!” Nora said._

 

_Jaune looked on the map along with Rosario. “Looks like we’re not to far from another town.” Rosario said._

 

_“How far is it?” Cristal asked._

 

_“Based on the distance from where we are to the town, it should be just an hour walk.” Jaune said._

 

_“That’s good.” Neo said stretching, “Maybe we can restock on our supplies…”_

 

_“Maybe you can get yourself an upgrade on your armor Arky.” Roman suggested as he took a puff from his cigar._

 

_Jaune scratched the back of his neck, “Well… Now that you mention it, I’ve been wanting to give my weapons an upgrade, so, I guess I could go for it.”_

 

_“Alright, so looks to me that we’ve got a plan than!” Melody said._

 

_“Looks that way to me.” Ren said._

 

_“Than what are we waiting for?” Nora said, “Last one to the village is an old stale pancake!”_

 

_Before anyone could even say anything, Nora just sprinted in some random direction, with Ren running behind her to tell her to wait up, and Melody, Rosario, Jaune and Scout running after her as well, trying to tell her that she was running in the wrong direction. Roman and Neo looked to one another and simply shrugged before they started walking. Cristal was about to follow when she noticed Ruby still holding the doctor's journal in her hand  and looking back to the old house._

 

_“Ruby?” Cristal said getting her attention, “What’s the matter?”_

 

_Ruby looked up to Cristal before replying, “... What we found in there… He was trying to turn people into Grimm, trying to make them like Destiny, before she was even born… Why would he would do it? He was such a nice doctor based on his entries and photos… So how could he do that to innocent lives?”_

 

_Cristal and Senka looked to one another before Cristal had replied, “There are a lot of things that we don’t know in the world Ruby…” She patted Senka on the beak, “Many scientists have tried to uncover the secret to Grimm, how they work on the inside and out, but… Because their bodies disappear after they’re killed, it had forever remained a mystery to mankind. We may never know why he did what he did, or even who his victims were, or even how many… Sometimes, it’s better for things just to stay buried, for the sake of those that knew the doctor for what he was. A kind and honest soul.”_

 

_“... But you heard what Roman said.” Ruby said to her, “... The photograph we saw in that lab… He said that was Quinta, Trinity’s step-mom. He told me that she left her family, ran away from home because of her… Doesn’t that get you thinking about why she was in the photo or as to why she was involved in… Whatever Forrest did?”_

 

_“It does Ruby.” Cristal said, “It raises a lot of questions sure but… We have more important things to worry about right now. Getting to Mistral, finding answers, and finding Destiny and get her back home to the only family she has left in the world.”_

 

_“... But we don’t even know why she was taken in the first place.”_

 

_“That’s true, we don’t know. Hell even I don’t know, what she wants with her. But maybe if we continue forward, that answer will come to us. It might not be right away, but it’ll come if you give it time. All we have to do is be patient and do what we can now and focus on the path we’ve taken.”_

 

_Ruby looked to Cristal before taking a moment to look at the journal she held. Cristal did make a good point. She wanted to find answers about all the questions she had at the top of her mind. Why was the school's attacked? Who is the person that placed the Contract on Cristal and these other Shadows? Why was Destiny taken? Who was Trinity? And what was Quinta involved in. Ruby wanted them answered, she wanted it all answered, though… She knew she couldn’t rush things. They had to focus on the task at hand, and that was getting to Mistral. Maybe all of the questions she had would be answered once she and her friends got there, maybe it won’t, who knows? She certainly wouldn’t know just by standing around and not doing anything, or even just calling it quits and going back home to Patch._

 

_With a determined look on her face, she placed the journal in her bag before throwing it over her back and Cristal couldn’t help but smile at this._

 

 _“_ ** _HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO STILL DOING BACK THERE!?_ ** _” They heard Roman shout, “_ **_ARE YOU COMING OR WHAT!?_ ** _”_

 

_“Well than Ruby Rose?” Cristal said as she motioned Ruby to go ahead first, “Shall we get going?”_

 

_Ruby simply smiled and nodded to her, “Of course, let’s get going!”_

 

_With that Ruby went ahead first and Cristal and Senka soon followed. Ruby heard Senka growling at Cristal indicating that he was talking to her. “Really? I sounded cliche?” Cristal said to him as she walked next to Ruby, “It was the best thing I could come up at the moment. Man everybody’s a critic.”_

 

_Both girls exchanged a look to one another, before they started to laugh with one another as they joined back up with the group, as they couldn’t help but wonder what they were laughing about._

* * *

 - ** _Present_ ** -

 

Ruby, Jaune and Neo had soon returned to their place they called home for now, after the visiting hours were over in the hospital. They had said their goodbyes and get wells to Roman and Melody and headed back to the others to tell them the good news about Roman and Melody’s condition. Of course when they told them, they were relieved to hear that they were going to be alright and decided to make plans to go and visit them later in the day just to talk to them. They saw Cristal’s new look and were pretty much shocked that she had decided to change her look entirely, though they couldn’t help but admire it. Rosario, Neo, Scout and Cristal herself decided to sight see in Mistral and offered RNJR to come with them. Though they respectfully denied as they decided to stick around the apartment for a bit longer before going out.

 

Ruby stepped into her room, where her Uncle had rested, with Frosty on her shoulder and Senka flying into the room ( **_Since he couldn’t exactly go out with Cristal and she had told him to stay with Ruby_ ** ), and he immediately made himself comfortable on Ruby’s bed; her pillow specifically, and instantly went to sleep once he was comfy. Ruby couldn’t help but smile as she shook her head to the little Griffon, and paid him no mind. She went by her uncle's bedside, and brushed his hair from his face just to let him know that she had come back. He only seemed to have responded by turning over laying on his side, and it seemed to have given Ruby some reassurance as she sighed with relief.

 

She went over to the desk that was provided in the room, and Frosty jumped off her shoulder and sat on the desk; she placed Roman’s lighter on the side and it sat just next to the little white fox. Ruby picked up the pen provided and brought a single notepad closer to her. After heaving a deep sigh, she started to write that of a letter.

* * *

  _Hey there Sis,_

 

_I hope that my letters have been reaching both you and dad. Handwritten stuff’s never been super reliable, but… I guess it’s all that we can count on these days. Anyway, in case you haven’t been getting them…_

 

_I just want to say, that I’m sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and… After everything I’ve been through… I can definitely say that you were right._

 

**_And I’m not just talking about the monsters we fought out here..._ **

* * *

 - ** _Atlas, Docking Bay_ ** -

 

After the girls had snuck out of the mansion, they quickly and quietly made their way to the docking bay that had been nearby, and they were lucky enough to find a single pilot just getting ready to leave. In an effort to get to where they needed to go, Weiss had struck a deal with the lone pilot. She had handed an Atlesian pilot a handful of lien, and almost without hesitation the pilot took it from her hand. He counted the lien that he had given her, before turning to her.

 

“So?” Weiss asked, “Do we have a deal?”

 

The pilot looked to the lien he had in his hand before heaving a sigh, “...Okay. You guys can hide in the cargo hold. I’ll take you as far as I can, but if we get caught, you’re on your own. Understand?”

 

Weiss simply nodded to the pilot in understanding and the pilot went to prepare for take off. She approached to the twins who had been patiently waiting for their eldest sister. “We’re going to be staying in the cargo hold for now, so you’re gonna have to stay quiet.” She said, “Think you both can do that?”

 

“As long as we get to see Winter and get far from Atlas, than we’ll endure whatever we have to go through.” Nilla said.

 

“Don’t worry Weiss, we’ll be as quiet as mice.” Van reassured her.

 

“Good. Now go in, get onto the ship.” Weiss said before she noticed that someone was missing. “Hey, wait a second.” She said, making the twins stop in their tracks, “Where’s Azure?”

 

“I think she’s over by the crates over there.” Van said pointing to where Azure had went.

 

Just when Weiss was about to go get her, Azure soon emerged from just behind a couple of crates nearby startling her slightly. “Goodness you scared me!” Weiss said to her, “What were you doing back there?”

 

“Just checking something.” Azure replied, “... Are we good to go?”

 

“Yes. We better go, before he leaves without us.” Weiss said.

 

“Than let’s not waste time.” She said, as she walked past Weiss proceeding to the ship. Weiss and the twins Van and Nilla soon followed behind; walking side by side with one another they boarded the ship just as the door started close. As the ship started to leave the docking bay, no one had seemed to notice that an black and white barn owl, had flown from where Azure was, with it’s eyes glowing red and going just ahead of them with as fast as its wings could carry it.

 

It disappeared into the clouds as it let out a screech that echoed through the wind.

* * *

 

_Every step we made took us further and further away from the things we knew. Every morning we would wake up wondering if just over the next hill would lead us to something good, or to something terrible._

 

 _It’s scary, not knowing what’s going to happen next. And the things we don’t know--just how bad it can get--it almost makes it wors_ _e_ _._

* * *

 - ** _Menagerie_ ** -

 

In the office which had belonged to Ghira, both siblings Blake and Kobi stood before his desk, looking for something. They rummaged through the various things on their father's desk before they had found what they were looking for. “Got it sis!” Kobi said, as he took a chest that had sat under the desk. He placed it on the desk and Blake stood in front of it.

 

“Care to do the honors?” He asked her.

 

Blake turned to her younger brother, “With pleasure.”

 

She reached for the locks and turned the keys that was provided on the chest. She had let it yawn open and in the chest it was revealed to be stuff from the White Fang, including two flags, a spiral notebook and a single book. She picked up the flag looking at its current logo, while Kobi picked up that of its previous logo.

 

Instead of the black and red colors that the world had become familiar with, the flag was of a blue and white colors. The claws marks just over its head was replaced with a circle that had been around the head, and it looked more peaceful than that of the current.

 

“... So… We’re really going to do this…?” Kobi had asked Blake.

 

“Yes…No sense in backing out now…” Blake said, “... Are you scared with going through with it?”

 

“Well, considering how I pissed off our mentor, and turned traitor…” Kobi said, “... I won’t lie, I’m terrified with facing them.”

 

“Come on, don’t chicken out on us scaredy cat!” They heard Sun say who had sat in one of the chairs provided in a relaxed position.

 

“Your really going to pull that one on me Monkey Boy?” Kobi asked with an amused look.

 

Sun chuckled slightly before saying, “Hey, if it makes you feel better I’m scared too, but just be glad that we’re going to do the right thing.”

 

Blake smiled at this, and looked to beaded bracelet around her hand, thinking back to a familiar face for a moment.

 

“Yes.” She said, before looking back up to Sun with a smile holding onto to her wrist that had that bracelet, “That we are.”

* * *

  _You once told me that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it… And I didn’t want to listen._

 

**_But you were right._ **

 

_Bad things do happen… All the time… Everyday…_

 

_Which is why I’m out here, to do whatever I can, wherever and whenever I can, to hopefully do some good. We all lost something; something precious to us, and I’ve seen what loss can do to people. But if we gave up everytime we lost…_

 

**_Than we would never be able to move forward…_ **

 

_We would never have the chance to see the beautiful things the future has waiting for us. We’d never have the strength to change; whether it's with ourselves…_

 

**_Or the world around us._ **

* * *

 “ ** _APPROACHING CITY OF MISTRAL_ ** ”

 

Oscar sat in the dining car area with his bag sitting beside him, and barely no one was seen in the area he was in. He was looking to a poster that was of the cities academy Haven; On the poster it had read “Haven Academy: Be A Hero”. He let out a sigh as once again thought about everything he was told, and what exactly he had gotten himself into. Though it was too late to turn back now; he had already made up his mind on what he wanted to do, and there was no stopping him. He was busy thinking about this that he didn’t pay attention to the view outside, until a certain someone had gotten his attention. Of course, the voice had belonged to Destiny, who was in the body of his Aunts doll, that had been sitting by the window on the table.

 

“Hey Oscar!” She said getting his attention, “I see it! I see the city!”

 

Oscar finally looked outside of the window, and was in awe by the view. They saw a beautiful scenery and of the mountains, trees and architecture and they were both hypnotized by it. “... It’s… It’s beautiful.” Destiny said still amazed.

 

“Yeah, it is…” Oscar said just as amazed as she was.

 

“... I wonder what we’re going to find there…”

 

“... Don’t know. We won’t know until we start looking around.”

 

Destiny looked to her wooden hands, and looked over to Oscar, “... Do you really think I’ll find clues to where my body is…?”

 

Oscar looked to her before replying, “Honestly I don’t know… But, we won’t know unless we try, so don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find the answers.”

 

Destiny nodded to him, “... I hope so.”

 

She looked back to the view and she couldn’t help but have a few certain people in her thoughts. She thought about her friends and her dad, as she still know the whereabouts of most of them. She was worried for them sure, but, she wouldn’t let her worries and fears stop her. Despite her worries and fears for them, she knew they were able to take care of themselves. Her father and Neo were able to handle themselves on several jobs, and Ruby and the others were trained for their entire lives, so they were able to handle themselves against anything that came there way.

 

She heaved a sigh as she thought to herself in an attempt to comfort her mind, “... **_Daddy… Everyone… Wherever you are… Please be safe…_ ** ”

* * *

  _We would never be there for others who might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for Yang. To become the Huntresses we were meant to be. To be the ones who would stand up and do something to fend off all the bad that is out there in the world._

 

_Because there are people who are still lost, and more who will do everything they can to gain everything from their sorrow._

 

_Believe me when I say…_

 

_I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster that we can never hope to beat._

* * *

 

- ** _Somewhere in Remnant_ ** -

 

In a familiar room lit only by candles, six people stood around the room surrounded by now disintegrating Grimm; these people being, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Salem, and even Diamond and Elise. Salem, Diamond and Elise had watched from the sidelines watching as Cinder used her abilities to kill any Grimm that stood went to attack her as did Mercury and Emerald.

 

Elise who stood with a cane supporting her had to learn more about the abilities of a Maiden, and Salem had stated to her, that she had to learn by watching another this being the Fall Maiden, Cinder herself. She was a bit hesitant at first but wanting the voices and images to go away, she had ultimately agreed to it. Diamond stood by her side, in case she had opened or aggravated one of the wounds she had received.

 

Now she stood beside her Mistress as watched Cinder use her abilities to her advantage to fend herself from the Grimm to make herself stronger.

 

With the snap of Cinder’s fingers Emerald had stepped forward; placing her fingers to her head and her semblance had activated, causing a slight irritation to Diamond and Elise when she did. Before the Shadows very eyes, there appeared the familiar Silver Eyed girl, Ruby Rose, though it was but a hallucination, through of the eyes of Cinder and them.

 

The hallucination of Ruby Rose reached out to Cinder, as if she was begging for mercy, so that she could live. In response all Cinder did was glare at the young girl. Her eye glowed as stream of fire emerged from her right hand, burning the hallucination of Ruby. The hallucination cried out in pain and agony as if she were the real thing, and the two Shadows watched as Cinder destroyed the hallucination before her, and Salem looked pleased at this.

 

As Elise watched as Emerald more hallucinations appear before Cinder and burn away each one, she suddenly felt a familiar painful ring in her head, and images seem to fly by through her head. Images of the hallucination of the Silver Eyed girl before them, more of the one named Jaune and of the young girl who had given her and her sister's life. Diamond noticed her in pain, and quickly supported her before she could fall to the ground; Salem took notice of this, and looked to her calmly, though she had said nothing.

 

Elise took deep breaths as she picked up her head, as everything around just seemed to muffle. Her eyes widened slightly, when in the fires that Cinder had made she saw just across the room a familiar girl with red crimson hair, having the same face as her, standing across the room staring right at her, and Elise couldn’t help but tense up at the sight of the girl. She heard the girl say something familiar to her as she tilted her head slightly.

 

“ **_... Do you believe in destiny…?_ ** ”

 

Finally she heard Diamond's voice.

 

“Elise?” She said, “Elise? Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

 

The minute Elise had blinked, the girl with red crimson hair was just gone, and her body seemed to relax but was still a bit alert. She turned to Diamond and simply shook her head in reply before she started to look around the room, wondering where the girl had gone to.

 

“Elise.” Salem said getting her attention, “... Is something wrong?”

 

When Elise saw that there was no one in the room but themselves, she took a deep breath to calm herself and allowed Diamond to help stand up. She than turned to Salem before she replied, reassuring both her and herself, “... No Mistress. Everything's fine… Everything’s fine…”

* * *

 ... _But we have to try._

 

 _If not for us, than for the people_ _we’ve already lo--_ _Than for the people that are still standing with us._

 

_I miss you so much… I miss Weiss, Blake and Destiny too…_

 

_But I think you’d all be happy to know… I think, Destiny wherever she is, would be happy to know this as well, that we made it to Mistral. We all did. We even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way. And guess who else?_

 

_We found our cousin Melody all the way out here. When we found her, she wasn’t alone, she was with others, her own team. They call themselves CRMS, and we found out they were going to Mistral like we were for the same reasons, so they had decided to travel with us._

 

_We wouldn’t have made as far as we did without them._

 

_I think you would like their leader Cristal; she’s the one that bought them all together in the first place. She’s able to talk to the Grimm like Destiny is, though… her face, is a actually a bit shocking when you first see it. Let’s just say when you meet her, if you ever do, her face rings, so many bells like you wouldn’t believe._

* * *

 Ruby had stopped writing for a moment as she felt tears trail down her face and fall onto the paper smudging it a little and she couldn’t help but sniffle. She wiped away her tears, and tried to get herself to stop by rubbing her eyes though, she couldn’t. They just kept coming like the rain. She soon felt a tingling sensation, and was soon quick to realize that it was Frosty who had started lick her affectionately as a way to comfort her. Ruby smiled a little and started to pet Frosty, as a sign of gratitude to the little fox and he leaned in for the touch.

 

Her attention was drawn to a groan from the man who slept in the same room as her. She stood up from the chair and quickly went over to Qrow’s side with Frosty once again hopping onto her shoulder. Kneeling beside him, she waited for any kind of response as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Hearing a slight cough, she saw his eyes finally open, seeing the familiar shade of red and she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

 

He smiled to her, “... Hey… Aren’t I normally the one saving you…?”

 

Ruby laughed at this as tears of happiness were seen flowing down her cheek. She wiped away her tears and smiled back at Qrow, before she had put her arms around him as the tears continued to fall. Qrow didn’t hesitate as he put his arm around his niece, and they both stayed like this for sometime, both of them not wanting to let the other go. Frosty climbed off of Ruby’s shoulder and jumped to the other bed where Senka was asleep; he curled himself up in the middle of the bed, and shut his eyes, going to sleep as well.

* * *

  _Qrow's going to take us to see the headmaster of Haven Academy._ **_Professor Lionheart_ ** _. And, both him and Cristal told us a lot of things that you’re going to want to hear. Things that I can’t trust can make it to you in this letter._

 

_But… Maybe… If you join us, they can tell you themselves. With Beacon gone they’ll need dad at Signal more than ever, and I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out here with me._

 

_But it sure would be great to get team RWBY back together again._

* * *

  _-_ **_Somewhere in Anima_ ** -

 

Hours had passed since the boat had arrived in Anima, and both Yang and Angel were prepared for the path ahead. Yang had made her decision on where she wanted to go, and Angel was more than happy to tag along with her, and it gave him a great excuse for him to take a break from flying for awhile since Yang brought along her bike, the Bumblebee. She in her new outfit and her hair undone and with Angel sitting on the backseat of her bike drove along the dirted road soon after they had gotten off the boat and for a good long while they had sat in silence as they felt the wind hit against their faces.

 

“Fork-road ahead!” Angel yelled through the wind.

 

Yang turned down to her engine a little, and the bike slowly stopped in front a pair of signs. One sign had read Mistral and the other read Kuroyuri; though the sign had a red X over it and had also read Bandits. Angel jumped off from the bike and took a closer look at the signs.

 

“Well, at least we know we’re close now.” Angel said to Yang as he stretched his legs a little.

 

Yang looked to the beaded bracelet that was just around her robotic wrist; it wasn’t long before she let out a sigh before smiling, “... **_They_ ** are in so much trouble when I find them.” She turned over to Angel, “You ready to go, or are you going to throw up again?”

 

Angel turned over to Yang, “Hey, just because I got sick on the boat, doesn’t mean that the same thing will happen on your bike!”

 

Yang chuckled, “Just get on.”

 

“Yes, mom.” Angel said with sarcasm, and the teens couldn’t help but laugh.

 

With Angel hopping back on the backseat, Yang started up the engine and drove down the path to Mistral.

* * *

  _Until next time, your loving sister, Ruby Rose._

 

_Oh! P.S, I’ll be sure to give you the address to where we’re going to be staying in Mistral!_

 

_I’d love to hear back from you and dad! And I can’t wait to fill you in on whatever is going to happen next!_

 

_Now that we made it across Anima, I really think things are finally gonna go our way._

* * *

 - ** _Haven Academy; Headmaster's Office_ ** -

 

The office of the headmaster was large and spacious, having its own bookcase and even a ladder to reach the books on the higher shelves. Papers were stacked loosely on a mahogany desk nearby and a golden plaque sat on the desk, which had a carved engraving; it had read, Professor Lionheart. On a coffee table nearby there sat a tea set colored in gray and green; three cups were sitting at the table, two filled up, and one empty.

 

The cup didn’t stay empty for long as Lionheart poured the tea into the small cup before handing it to someone. A young girl with shoulder length magenta hair, having a single orange eye, took the cup from him. She had on a brown eyepatch covering her right eye, and wore a suit that was colored in red and black and underneath her jacket she had a gray collared shirt, with a familiar gray choker around her neck; with the suit she wore black dress shoes. What had stood by her side in the seat she sat opposite of the Professor was a creature of Grimm, **_a Beringel_ ** to be exact and it seemed to have growled softly in Lionhearts direction.

 

The girl… **_Sinn_ ** took a sip from the tea, and licked her lips as she pulled the cup away.

 

“This is pretty good.” Sinn said to Lionheart with a simple smile, “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had better, but yours definitely comes close as to perfection.”

 

Lionheart had said nothing to this, and refused to make eye contact. Another person, this being a man took the second teacup from the coffee table. This man had short black and gray hair, with a black mustache and a pair of green eyes and his skin was of light brown. He wore a gray overcoat with yellow linings and a yellow dress shirt with a black necktie, and had an undercoat with a shade of indian red and had yellow buttons and fingerless gloves to match.

 

This man was revealed to be, **_Arthur Watts_ **.

 

“Thank you for your generosity Professor.” Watts said, putting his feet on the table revealing his cordovan shoes.

 

He took a sip from his cup of tea as he made himself comfortable.

 

“ **_Salem_ ** always did say you were… **_Quite hospitable_ **.”

 

( ** _Opening Theme: Let’s Just Live Performed By Casey Lee Williams_ ** )


	21. Nothing Short of a Miracle

- **_Mistral_ ** -

 

Destiny sat alone in a room where her and Oscar were going to staying and all she did was to pass the time was look out the window, and enjoy the view provided. She watched as the people passed by as they either chatted or laugh with one another or spend a romantic evening together. She sighed since she was both bored and feeling a bit lonely. She couldn’t help but think back to the little apartment she stayed in with her dad, as this scenario seemed very familiar to her. All her life she spend most of time in isolation, hidden away from people, and yet despite her being in the body of a doll, she felt like she was on repeat. Oscar had told her, he had to take care of something and had told her to wait. Though he told her he would be back, she felt like she had been waiting for hours. 

 

She felt very much homesick at the thought of her dad, Neo, and her new friends that she made all those months ago. It’s bad enough she didn’t why or how this was happening to her, but… What scared her all the more was not knowing where they were and if they were even okay. She knew they would be able to take care of themselves though… It still killed her not knowing. She missed them, she missed them dearly, and she wished she could find them but she just didn’t know how or even where to start looking; all she knew was Blake had taken a boat to somewhere, though she just didn’t know where to. 

 

She buried her face in her wooden knees. 

 

“I could sure use Cristal right about now… She always knew what to do in situations like this…” She said to herself, “... Than again, I don’t even know where she is either… Or if she made it out when Vale and Beacon were…” 

 

She stopped herself in mid-sentence not wanting to think about the scenario. Though she wish she knew if she was okay, as were the others. 

 

She turned back to the window again and placed her hand on it. 

 

“... They’re all worried about me, I just know they are…” She said aloud, “... I wish I could talk to them and let them know I’m alright…” Destiny looked up to the sky above the buildings and clouds, and looked to the shattered moon that soared high. “There has to be some way I could know where they are… They’re just has to be…” 

 

As Destiny pondered her thoughts she found a familiar blue light glow dimly from on her neck which startled her slightly. She saw the blue butterfly that was on her neck had acted up suddenly like it did before when she was some kind of ghost. She saw in the reflection of her window that her green eye had changed to white and for a moment, a blue light was soon around her body. 

 

“It’s happening again…?”  

 

As it did before the little butterfly on her neck flew off but this time a tracing was left on her wooden neck. The small blue butterfly flew towards the door, and through the keyhole. To her surprise, saw the door just yawn open after a click was heard. 

 

“Where is it going?” 

 

Destiny stood up from the windowsill and went over to the curtain. She used it to slide down and get onto the floor. Despite the long distance due to her size she was able to make it to the door, and squeezed through finding the little blue butterfly resting on the knob just on the other side. It flew from the door and onto another door just down the dimly lit hall. 

 

“... I wonder where I’m being taken to this time?” 

 

With a deep breath she started to follow the little butterfly as it fluttered from one door knob to the next.

* * *

 

The only ones in the rooms that evening was Ruby, Roman, Cristal and Senka. The three of them didn’t necessarily feel like going out for the night, since they were all feeling a little tired. The rest of their group however felt the need to see what exactly Mistral was like at night and what the people did for fun in the city that lived in the rocky terrain. Roman had gotten out of the hospital only a couple of days ago and the others were just out celebrating since he had fully recovered, though the same couldn’t be said for Melody. Despite her only having a mild concussion she still needed time to recover her aura, and wait till the doctor gave her the all clear, which could be for a few weeks. Though Ruby had promised Melody that until she had gotten out, they would see her every single day. 

 

Qrow had fully recovered from his injury and decided to pay a visit to his daughter. Ruby had told him, that she explained the Creature to her, and about what she did and what happened while he was passed out from the poison. Of course he was both angry at the fact she rushed into battle without thinking and was worried about her when he was told she had sustained what could’ve been a serious injury, and was pretty much out the door the second Ruby had told her. 

 

At the moment, the three of them sat in the room just doing their own thing. Roman was reading a book while Cristal and Ruby were playing a video game on the scrolls provided. 

 

“Soaring Ninja Wins!” The Game Announcer said, “Total Annihilation!” 

 

Cristal let out a groan, “Damn it, I’ve been beaten! Again!” 

 

Ruby had said triumphantly, “I learned that move from uncle Qrow! This makes it my second win!” 

 

“Told you it was mistake to play against her.” Roman said not taking his eyes off the book.

 

“You mean you’ve actually played?” Cristal asked amusingly. 

 

“Only once.” Roman said, “And I rather not mention it again.” 

 

All Ruby did was giggle at this making Roman turn red slightly from embarrassment, and Cristal couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Okay, I think I’m done with playing games for the night.” She said as she shut off the game. 

 

“Yeah, I am too.” Ruby said, as she turned off the game, “So what should we do now?” 

 

“You can go to sleep maybe?” Roman suggested. 

 

“Nah, not tired yet.” Cristal said, “How about a movie?” 

 

“Sounds like a good idea.” Ruby said, “What’s there to watch?” 

 

Cristal went over to the edge of the bed and got up a shopping bag; most likely from one of their shopping sprees from when they were out on the town in Mistral. “Well, we did find a couple of good movies in the stores.” Cristal said taking out the movies as she told the genre, “We gotta a couple of horror and thriller films, if you’re into that sort of thing, action if you like Spruce Willis, a couple of romances, one of them was called 50 Covers of White. Though I heard it wasn’t the best of romances but, we always critique that if we want to as we watch it. This really cool first person movie called Die-Hard Jerry and I even got an animated movie you might like.” 

 

Ruby’s eyes widened slightly when she saw the animated movie she got out. “My Neighbor Catario” is what the title had read. Her expression seemed to have saddened at this, at the thought where she had seen the movie before. Cristal took notice of this . 

 

“Something the matter?” Cristal asked. 

 

“... That movie…” Ruby said, “... We watched it with her…”

 

Ruby took the movie from Cristal’s hands to look at it. “... When we had a sleepover, Nora suggested we watch it. Though we fell asleep halfway… Next morning she waited for us to wake up. She said she didn’t want to finish it alone…” 

 

“... That’s Destiny for you…” Roman said, “... She would always wait… No matter how long it took…” 

 

Cristal raised her eyebrow at this, and Roman’s expression saddened as well just at the mentioning of her. After a moment Cristal seemed to have understood reading the looks on their faces. “... You’re both worried about her…” She said to them, though she didn’t expect them to answer, as they both sat there in silence. With Ruby’s eyes focused on the DVD and with Roman leaning his head back. Cristal looked to the both of them and tried to lighten the mood, “Hey you guys, come on, cheer up.” She said getting their attention, “We’ve already made it to Mistral, and we’re one step closer to finding her. We just have a little faith.” 

 

“That’s easy for you to say.” Roman said to her, “... Do you have any idea how hard it was for me when I was still working with Cinder? When she had her in captivity?” 

 

“Kind of.” Cristal replied with a shrug, “You gotta remember, I was stuck with her.” 

 

“Well you weren’t in my shoes when I was… Forced to work with her.” Roman said at one point hitting his hand on the table, “Every single day when I was doing what Cinder wanted… I was always worried sick about her. Scared of what she was doing to her. I spent a lot of sleepless nights having the thought of her getting hurt… Now I’m even more terrified about the thought of her being in the hands of this Salem person, the one who took her mother away!” 

 

“I know just how you feel.” Ruby said, “I’m worried about Destiny too, and scared for her. She’s still just a little girl, and is probably confused to what is going on, and I wouldn’t blame her if she was feeling scared too. And what’s worse… Without even knowing who Salem is, who knows what she’s doing to her, if she’s just hurting her out of her amusement or as some kind of punishment… I’m just--” 

 

“ **_She hasn’t hurt her_ ** .” Cristal suddenly said cutting Ruby off. Both Roman and Ruby turned to her, looking at her in complete in utter shock by her words. 

 

“What did you just say?” Roman asked. 

 

“I said she hasn’t hurt her.” Cristal repeated, “Honestly I’m surprised she didn’t but trust me, she hasn’t tried or even made an attempt to.” 

 

Ruby and Roman looked at one another, just confused at this. Finally, Ruby had asked, “How do you know that? How do you know that she hasn’t?” 

 

Cristal looked to the both of them before saying, “... **_Because I saw it for myself through Destiny’s eyes*_ ** .”

 

( **_*Once again this is a reference back to the teaser story The Shadow of Grimm: Destiny_ ** )

 

Ruby and Roman’s eyes widened and their jaws just dropped at this. They couldn’t even find the words of what to say at that moment. She saw through her eyes?! How!? How was that even possible?! As if reading their thoughts to what they were asking, Cristal had spoken again, “... Do you remember back when I told you how my kind are made? How we extract only small amounts of aura from the first person that picks us up as flowers?” 

 

They both didn’t say anything to this, all they did was nod. 

 

“Well, there’s more to it than that actually.” Cristal said, “Not only do we gain life from the person's aura, but… We’re actually connected back to them. It’s like a two way connection between us and the original owner of the face we posses. It’s how sometimes we’re able to have the semblance as them. Though we can take it even further than that, but only if we allow the two way connection to go deeper. And since my sisters are working with the person you now know is Salem… I doubt they would ever allow themselves to go farther into the connection like I have.” 

 

“What are you saying?” Ruby asked, “What do you mean by going further?” 

 

Cristal told her, “... I never told the Princess this, but… When the original owner of our face, or in this case Destiny is in a situation they can’t get out of, we can give only a little of their aura back to them to help them. As a side effect we’re able to see what they see as well. Destiny was put into  **_a coma_ ** and I thought I could help her by giving a chance to escape from where she was or at least have an idea on where she was keeping her, or even have an idea of what she wanted with her. But… Destiny unfortunately didn’t make it very far, and Salem put her back under before I knew what was happening.”  

 

Once again they were both left speechless by what Cristal was saying. This two-way connection that the Shadows with the person who had given life, who had given them their face, they just couldn’t believe and could almost swear that Cristal herself was making all of this up, right on the spot. Than again, after everything they had heard from her, the fact that she’s a Grimm Hybrid, the fact that she was born from a simple flower, and the fact that anything having to do with Salem had to purposely keep quiet about, they both had believed her, despite how ridiculous it had sounded. 

 

Wait a minute, a coma?

 

“What do you mean by that?” Ruby asked with worry. 

 

“Huh?” Cristal said with a slight confusion. 

 

“You just said, Destiny was in a coma.” Roman clarified, “What do you mean by that?” 

 

“You mean to say, this whole time we’ve been out here trying to find her…” Ruby said, “... She’s just been asleep?” 

 

Cristal pulled up both of her legs onto the bed and sat pretzel style as she replied, “... Well I imagine it must’ve done a number on her when she was in the head of that dragon the night the Beacon Tower was destroyed. Though than again I’m not entirely sure, since well, that was first time I’ve actually seen a Grimm merge with a person. But… Considering what Ruby unintentionally did, when Pyrrha was… I imagine it must’ve been worse. Especially for a little girl like her.” 

 

Ruby’s eyes widened slightly at this as did Roman’s for the second time that night. “You mean to say you were there?” Ruby said, “When Beacon Tower fell?” 

 

Cristal didn’t answer, but she had just looked away from Ruby. “You were?” Roman said, “Weren’t you?” 

 

Finally, the hybrid spoke up, but was a bit hesitant and her voice crack slightly at one point, “... I was there. I followed the dragon back to the tower that night, to see if I could save Destiny. By the time I got there, I saw Pyrrha’s aura break. I saw her try to attack Cinder with only her shield, but she had the upper hand. At the moment she had her arrow on her, I tried to shout at Cinder to distract her but...  **_I didn’t realize that Destiny’s eyes were open_ ** , and at that point I was like a ghost to the world. In the end, Cinder didn’t hear me, and I was forced to watch as Pyrrha was… There was nothing I could do after that…” Cristal felt a tear roll down her cheek, and she buried her face in her hands. 

 

“Sorry, I need a minute.” Cristal said. 

 

Ruby placed her hand over mouth at the thought of this. The thought of Cristal having to go through with what she described.Though another certain thought came to her head, as she thought to when Cristal was talking in her sleep. 

 

“ **_She’s dead because of me… I could’ve saved her… But her eyes… That rule… If it hadn’t been for that rule… Ruby… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… Please… Please don’t hate me… I’m so sorry…_ ** ” 

 

“... What you said earlier…” Ruby said softly, “That’s what meant, wasn’t it…?” 

 

Cristal turned Ruby and looked at her perplexed since she didn’t quite hear her, after she had stopped herself from crying, “Did you say something?” 

 

“Huh? Oh nothing!” Ruby immediately said, “I said nothing!” 

 

All Cristal did was give a quizzical look before saying awkwardly, “...Okay.” 

 

“That doesn’t explain what you mean by coma.” Roman had pointed out, “I know it wasn’t Red’s fault since she had no idea of knowing about this power she has, but… You’re not being clear on what you mean.” 

 

Cristal had explained, “... After I came too, I immediately rushed over to Destiny to see if she was alright, when I saw her lying on the ground unconscious. I tried and I tried but I just couldn’t seem to wake her up no matter what I did. I figured that she was regaining her strength and needed the rest. But, after a week passed by when we had gone into hiding, she wasn’t coming too. That’s when I sensed it…  **_Her aura had weakened, and it wasn’t even recovering itself_ ** . I don’t even know how it was possible but that was her condition the last I saw her. My guess is, after Ruby did… Well whatever it was, it affected not only me and the dragon but her too. Normally at least from what I’ve read, the power of the Silver Eyes don’t affect regular people… Though in this case, because she has an eye of Grimm, well… It put her in that state…” 

 

“Dear God…” Roman said running his hand through his hair, “... What the hell did she go through…?” 

 

“... Oh my God…” Ruby said stunned and with realization, “... It’s all my fault…  I put her into a coma…”

 

“No Ruby.” Cristal said, “You’re not at fault and you know it. You yourself had no idea that the power of the Silver Eyes even existed.” 

 

Roman looked up to Ruby, “She’s right Red. There’s no way you could’ve known…” 

 

Ruby looked down, still feeling a little guilty about what Cristal told her. This apparent power she had because of the Silver Eyes. She could never hurt Destiny and yet she did, unintentionally. Roman was right about one thing however, there was no way she could’ve known about it in the first place. Though she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about it. 

 

“... How come you didn’t tell us about this before?” Ruby said, “About this… Two way connection…?” 

 

“Why didn’t you even say anything?” Roman asked her, “This would’ve been important to know before hand!” 

 

“ **_It’s because I can’t reopen the connection again_ ** .” Cristal said, earning one more look of confusion to her again, “... I don’t know if it’s Salem did something when she put her back to sleep, or if it’s something I don’t know about… But I tried to open up the connection again, and no matter what I did, nothing happened. If I had told you about this while we were still on our way here I knew you would all lose focus. I’m sorry I kept my mouth shut, but I had to for the sake for you all, and your safety. Destiny saw Pyrrha die in front of her… I didn’t want her to lose more people, she loves and cares about. She’s been through enough of that.” 

 

For a few whole moments they all sat their in silence, with Ruby and Roman taking in this new information Cristal had told them. As if they needed more questions about this whole situation, though nor Cristal or Ruby had realized that Roman had looked unsure about something. Ruby had buried her hands in her hair, “Well if ever there was a bright side…” She started to say, “... At least we know now that Destiny is okay… I just wish I could talk to her…” 

 

“You and me both…” Roman said to Ruby, “... That’s all I wished for everyday since we’ve been apart. I’ve wanted to hear her voice, even if it was only for a moment.” 

 

“Ditto.” Cristal said, “... I can’t just go by on what I’ve seen, I need to know that she’s alright, that she’s safe. I need her to tell me herself. Just somehow… Someway…”  

 

Senka suddenly perked up from the bed, and stood letting out a squawk, which had gotten their attention. They saw that he looked strangely excited about something. 

 

“Uh… What’s wrong with him?” Ruby asked. 

 

“I don’t know…” Cristal said before telling Senka, “... Slow down, you’re not making any--” 

 

All of sudden he flew straight out of the room and through the slightly open door. Shortly after they heard a surprised shriek, which left them just bewildered. Cristal got up from the bed and went to the door. Ruby and Roman were about to follow behind her, but she had motioned for them to wait and she picked up her swords. “Senka?” Cristal said, “Senka what is it buddy?” 

 

Cristal went out of the door and entered the hall finding Senka not to far, from their room; she stood in her battle stance as she slowly walked towards the small griffon. Before Cristal could say something, she suddenly heard a familiar laughter and voice. 

 

“Stop it! That tickles!” 

 

Cristal’s eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks. Slowly she stood out of her stance, she lowered her weapons as her jaws dropped slightly. 

 

“No…” She said softly, “... It can’t be…” 

 

As the laughter continued she treaded softly with her footsteps as not to startle her little Griffon and she finally towered over Senka. There she saw a little wooden victorian doll just laughing and having a warm smile on her face. Than she saw what confirmed her thoughts, a familiar insignia she had seen before and the reason to why she had a blind right eye. 

 

**_A blue butterfly and an orange eye that had been sitting in a pit of tar._ **

 

Cristal felt the strength in her leave her fingers, as her swords just fell to the ground with a thud, finally taking notice of the Grimm and the little doll. The eyes on the doll had widened in shock and surprise when she realized who had looked upon her as she sat up.

 

“...  **_Cristal_ ** …?” 

 

Cristal had said nothing, she just kept silent; She fell to her knees and felt tears come to her eyes. Her hands reached out and picked up the little doll, and the doll had allowed her to do so. 

 

“ **_Destiny…?_ ** ” She said, just stunned, “... Is that really you…?” 

 

Destiny had hesitantly nodded her head, but took a good look at her appearance still in shock as she stood, “... You look different now…” 

 

Cristal smiled as she laughed a little, “... Shouldn’t I be the one saying that to you Princess?” 

 

Destiny found herself laughing a little too, “... You have no idea, how I much I missed being called that…” 

 

Cristal, Destiny and Senka’s attention was soon drawn when they heard footsteps come to a sudden halt. They both turned and saw Ruby’s eyes just widened in shock, just as stunned as Cristal was when she heard the voice. “Is…” Ruby said, as tears came to her eyes as well, “... Is that…?” 

 

Destiny let out a gasp, but soon smiled a relieved smile, “... Ruby… It’s you…” 

 

Ruby quickly went over to where Cristal was and took Destiny out of her hands; she looked and saw the familiar eye she had been shown to her, her sister and friends all those months ago. “It really is you…” Ruby said softly, and with a smile; she brought her in close, and Destiny allowed herself to grab onto the fabric of her cloak, as it was the closest thing she can do to give a hug, “But I--I don’t understand… How are you even here? In the body of a doll for that matter?” 

 

“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself…” Ruby heard Destiny say. 

 

She soon looked to her wrist and saw a familiar beaded bracelet. “My Victory Bracelet…” She said, “You’re still wearing it…” 

 

“Of course I am…” Ruby said to her, “... I would never get rid of gift that I got from a dear friend…” 

 

Finally Roman came into the hallway, “Hey, you girls mind telling me, what’s gotten Senka all worked up about and what that noise was?” Roman said, and it had caused Destiny just to freeze up at the sound of his voice. Ruby brought Destiny out, nearly at arms length and held Destiny in the palm of her hand. Roman at first looked to her with a quizzical expression as he saw her put her hand to her mouth but his expression changed when he saw a familiar insignia of a blue butterfly on her neck. 

 

“Oh my God…” Roman said, as he fell to his knees in as much shock as Ruby and Cristal were, “... Destiny…?” 

 

Destiny couldn’t even find the words to say anything right now. If she was in her actual body right now, she would feel tears streaming down her face. She felt her bottom lip quiver slightly as she let out a shaky breath; she reached out to him with her wooden limb, and Ruby immediately brought her out arms length. 

 

Roman had instinctively reached out and allowed Destiny to step onto his palm. He brought her near his face, and let his forehead lean in slightly. Destiny let herself lean in and her eyes closed. Roman’s eyes closed as well when he felt her wooden fingers.

 

“Daddy…” She said, her voice cracking slightly, “...  **_I finally found you_ ** …”  

* * *

 

- **_Meanwhile_ ** -

 

The sound of the a guitar was heard in a room of the hospital that filled the void in the halls. It was of a soft melody that when many of the patients or doctors or nurses heard, it would put their mind at ease with it. Qrow sat in the room as he listened to his daughter play from her notes she had wrote down, and he even found himself swaying his head slightly at the soft tune. Frosty laid curled up next to her, as he listened to what Melody had played. Eventually her song had finished with one final strum and a void of silence filled the room. 

 

Qrow soon broke it, “... It’s nice to hear you playing again. I forgotten how talented you are.” 

 

“Sometimes I forget that myself.” Melody said, as she placed her guitar on the side. 

 

“Well your certainly gonna be forgetful now after your head treatment.” The Huntsman joked, as he lightly tapped on her head. Melody lightly punched his arm as she laughed, “Shut up you jerk!” Both of them shared a laugh for a moment before they caught their breath. “So uh…” Melody said awkwardly, “... What exactly did you want to talk about?” 

 

Qrow replied, “Ruby told me what happened when you fought against the Nuckelavee, and… About how you stupidly rushed in without thinking.” 

 

Melody didn’t say anything as she instead sat awkwardly on the bed. 

 

“Here I thought I taught my own daughter better than to make a dumb decision like that.” Qrow said, “You would’ve died out there if it hadn’t been for the Creature.” 

 

“... I know…” Melody said to him softly. 

 

“What exactly were thinking back? You know it takes a lot more than one Huntress to take down a Grimm like the Nuckelavee.” 

 

“I thought--” Melody said hesitating a little, “I thought I could take it out on my own, but… Clearly I was wrong.” 

 

“You scared a lot of people after what it did to you.” Qrow said, “And who knows, the next time something like this happens, you might not be so lucky the next time.” 

 

Melody let out a sigh and had still said nothing to this; she turned away from the gaze of her dad. Though after a moment of gathering her thoughts she spoke, “Okay, I’ll admit… What I did was stupid like you said. And I swear that it won’t happen again.” 

 

“How can I be sure?” Qrow asked, “Considering how long you’ve been out here on your own, I can’t exactly take your word for it.” 

 

Melody once again chose to stay silent but looked hurt by his words, which Qrow quickly took notice of. He placed his hand over Melody’s which got her attention back to him. “Look…” Qrow said to her, “... I don’t mean to sound like your not trustworthy; I do trust you, I’m just worried.” 

 

Melody looked surprised at this, “Really? You worried? I don’t know, that’s kind of rare for you dad.” 

 

“You forget, I’m both a parent and an uncle, so it is in my job description as one.” Qrow said to her, “... You already had me worried enough as it is after Ruby explained to me what happened, not to mention scared out of my mind. I just want to be sure that you can take care of yourself, since let’s face it… I won’t always be there to save you.” 

 

Melody felt his hand shake slightly and came to realize that her father's words were true. As a child she always knew him as the cool-headed huntsman, that tended to joke around a bit; whether he was actually drunk or sober. Melody had rarely saw him scared or worried; the only time she had seen him like this, ever was back when Ruby Yang and her were kids. Whether it was an incident with the Creature or when Yang was trying to find answers about Raven. She tightened around his hand ever so slightly as comfort; it wasn’t long before she thought of something. 

 

“You can train me like you did back at Signal.” She said, earning a look of surprise from the Huntsman, “Go in a couple sparring matches from time to time, so that way you can see how much I’ve improved or how I’ve gotten rusty on some things.” 

 

“Go on a one on one sparring match with my daughter?” Qrow said to himself before turning back to her, “Are you sure you want to? You’re old man, might have a few tricks that you don’t know about since your time at Signal.” 

 

“... I’ve never been sure of anything in my life.” Melody said, “Besides, I think I can take you on.” 

 

Before Qrow could say anything any more a Nurse. “Sorry to disturb you, but visiting hours are over, and it’s almost time for curfew.” She said. 

 

Qrow nodded and the Nurse took her leave; he stood up from his seat, and Frosty who had woken up climbed up on his shoulder. “Welp, time to call it a night. You focus on getting some sleep alright?” Right when Qrow was gonna turned to leave he felt Melody grab his wrist suddenly. He turned back to look at her and saw that she had fear in her eyes and it was written on her face. “Hey? What’s the matter?” He asked her. 

 

Melody didn’t say anything, she just looked down, and tighten her grip. “Wren?” Qrow said, “What’s wrong?” 

 

“... Please…” Melody suddenly said softly, “... Please don’t leave…” 

 

Qrow looked to his daughter and recognized the tone of her voice. It’s the one she had used from when she was child, whenever he had to go away on a mission, though he heard fear in her tone of voice as well. Of course he figured why she was like that; he had been poisoned and it was killing him on the inside. She must’ve been worried and scared for him and why wouldn’t she be? When his wife Celia left she didn’t have any other parent figure to turn to other than himself. Even when the other parents, even social workers threatened to take her away, he fought against them because Creature or not, she was still his daughter. He was the only other person, other than Tai that ever gave a damn about Melody. He was one of the first people that didn’t see her for the monster she was. Of course she would be scared of losing the parent that ever loved her and treated her like a human being. 

 

Qrow took her hand away from his wrist and gently pulled her in for a hug. “It’s okay kiddo…” He said to her, “I’ll come back tomorrow to see ya.” 

 

“... I know you will.” Melody said as she put her arms around him, “... I’m sorry… It’s just…I--” 

 

“Don’t be sorry…” Qrow said to her, “... I get why you’re scared, and it’s okay to be… Just know that I won’t go anywhere, at least, not anytime soon.” 

 

Melody said nothing again, though nodded her head. Qrow kissed her on the top of her head, before they broke out of the embrace. With a simple silent wave to one another, Qrow left the room without saying another word, and Melody herself had gone to sleep shortly after.

* * *

 

Before heading back however Qrow decided to stop at a bar, just nearby where the hospital was. It wasn’t much to his surprise that no one was in the local tavern of the city and he went straight to the stools, asking for a whiskey to the bartender, and have him to keep it coming. 

 

He was just on his fifth glass of whiskey and the bartender had just gone into the bathroom, allowing Frosty sat on the table just watching the Huntsmen go through one glass after another, and there was nothing but silence. It wasn’t before someone had entered the bar causing Frosty’s ears to perk up; Qrow noticed this as the fox looked alert. 

 

“Excuse me?” He heard someone say. 

 

Qrow turned around and before him he saw a young boy no older than Ruby was, his skin having a tanned complexion and freckles on his face. He had short black hair and eyes that were of green and a ring of yellow just around his pupils. He had on a dirty white collared v-neck shirt with criss cross lacings in the gap, and was not tucked in properly, and around his neck he had a small white scarf; Over his shirt he had a pair of orange suspenders that had held up his olive colored pants where sewn patches were seen, with a pair of dark brown work boots to go with it. On his hands he had on orange gloves with dark gray straps and a striped scarf was seen tucked in his left pocket. 

 

Qrow raised an eyebrow to the teenage boy. 

 

“You know I don’t think they allow kids in here pipsqueak.” He said to him. 

 

The boy had said nothing to him; Qrow saw him look to his left arm. 

 

“Shut up, I’m getting there.” He had heard him say. 

 

Qrow raised an eyebrow to this, while Frosty on the other hand tilted his head with confusion. The young boy soon turned back to the Huntsman. 

 

“I’m supposed to tell you…” He started to say, “... I’d like my cane back?” 

 

Qrow’s eyes widened in shock for only a moment before he started to nod to himself in understanding. He stood up from the stool causing the boy to back up slightly. From out of his back compartment he took out a handle and threw it over to the young boy. He reacted and caught a hold of it, before it had extended to a cane, which left the boy in awe by it. 

 

Qrow smiled to the boy, “ **_It’s good to see you again Oz_ ** .” 

 

**_To Be Continued in “The Blood of Grimm”_**  


End file.
